Other studies have reported that phosphorylation of downstream targets of ROCK including myosin light chain phosphatase targeting subunit 1 (MYPT1), LIM kinase (LIMK) and the ezrin/radixin/moesin (ERM) complex are elevated in the hearts and aorta of rats with advanced DCM [15, 34, 35, 39, 51, 52], indicating increased activity of ROCK. This evidence concerns the gene PPP1R12A and familial dilated cardiomyopathy.