LIFR and cardiac hypertrophy: FLT3-L has also been found to have a negative causal relationship with both DCM and HCM, possibly because it provides cardiomyocyte protection and improves cardiac function.[37] A number of studies have demonstrated that leukemia inhibitory factor receptor levels (LIFR) is primarily found in the interstitium of the myocardium of hypertrophic hearts and that it is closely associated with cardiac hypertrophy.[38] This study, however, did not find a causal relationship between LIFR and DCM or HCM; rather, it found a negative causal relationship with ICM, which deserves further investigation.