SPP1 and Myocardial fibrosis: Cardiac inflammatory changes may contribute to myocardial fibrosis.40 We recently showed that macrophage infiltration into the interstitial space of the LV myocardium was accompanied by increased expression of genes for proinflammatory proteins such as monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and osteopontin in the heart of DS/obese rats.41 The GR is expressed widely in the cardiovascular system, including the vessel wall, myocardium and inflammatory cells such as macrophages that invade vascular lesions.42 Glucocorticoids are also thought to exert immunoinhibitory actions.