CDK8 and heart failure: High-dose EPO also increased heart failure-associated genes such as Cdk8, Nox4, S100A, and SERCA2a, and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy-related genes such as Acta1, Myh7, Nppa, and Nppb in male WT mice but not in ΔEPORE male mice (Figures 2A, B).