GJA1 and cardiomyopathy: Gustafson-Wagner et al. demonstrated that Xinα KO mice had significant postnatal defects in ID ultrastructure, myofilament assembly, and abnormal expression of a number of AJ and desmosome proteins (p120-catenin, β-catenin, N-cadherin, desmoplakin, Cx43) leading to cardiac hypertrophy, cardiomyopathy and conduction disturbances (Gustafson-Wagner et al., 2007).