Moreover, compared with the saline control treatment, VEGF‐C156S treatment dose‐dependently attenuated cardiac hypertrophy (as indicated by increases in heart size, HW/BW, and HW/TL ratios, myocyte cross‐sectional areas and ANF, mRNA level) and fibrotic responses (as indicated by increases in perivascular and interstitial fibrotic areas, the number of α‐SMA+ myofibroblasts and the mRNA expression of collagen I and α‐SMA) after 6 weeks of TAC (Figures 6C‐6I). This evidence concerns the gene ACTA1 and cardiac hypertrophy.