BEX1 and cardiac hypertrophy: Echocardiographic assessment of fractional shortening showed that BEX1-TG mice developed a more severe functional deficit compared with WT control mice (Fig. 1f), as well as greater cardiac hypertrophy and more pronounced pulmonary oedema (Fig. 1g,h), suggesting more prominent heart failure due to augmented BEX1 expression in the heart with pressure overload stimulation.