PDPN and myocardial infarction: We established that shortly after MI, at the time corresponding to the later phases of granulation of the necrotic tissue in the infarcted myocardium, there was more than a six-fold increase in the podoplanin labeling at the areas neighboring the infarction as compared to remote area, and a three-fold increase in the frequency of podoplanin-positive cells in the whole heart relative to non-operated and sham-operated controls.