SMAD2 and cardiac hypertrophy: The expression of adhesion molecules including CD11a, CD11b and CD11c was increased in rats with myocardial hypertrophy.115 Walsh reported that the inhibition of stress‐induced activin A/Smad2 signalling triggered the expression of follistatin‐like in hypertrophied cardiac myocytes.116 Follistatin‐like 3 is a stress‐induced regulator of cardiac hypertrophy and may regulate myocyte size via Smad signalling.116 Moreover, the expression of N‐cadherin was up‐regulated in myocardial tissues in rats.