The TauTKO mice developed by the Ito’s group also showed evidence of cardiomyopathy, as indicated by diminished fractional shortening; ventricular remodeling, as shown by dilated ventricles; and reductions in ventricular wall thickness, as well as increased expression of fetal genes that serve as heart failure markers, such as atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and β-myosin heavy chain (MHC) [126]. This evidence concerns the gene NPPB and cardiomyopathy.