However, cystatin C may not only serve as a marker of intersecting cardio-renal pathways in patients with DCM but also associate with cathepsin B inhibition, collagen accumulation, and myocardial fibrosis, as an inhibitor of cathepsins, which play a role in the degradation of the extracellular matrix (39). The gene discussed is CTSS; the disease is familial dilated cardiomyopathy.