The pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic roles of IL-17A are further supported by the fact that the neutralization of IL-17 reduces the expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokines,IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α, in the heart, downregulating the expression of MMP-2/9, and thus ameliorating myocarditis-induced cardiac fibrosis, and therefore delaying the progression to dilated cardiomyopathy (16). This evidence concerns the gene TNF and dilated cardiomyopathy.