protein_function: Immediate-early protein likely to play a role in cellgrowth regulation..
NOV(nephroblastoma overexpressed), also known as CCN3, is a matricellular protein that in humans is encoded by the NOV gene. The protein encoded by this gene is a small secreted cysteine-rich protein and a member of the CCN family of regulatory proteins. This gene is mapped to 8q24.12. NOV is a potentially useful marker for the diagnosis of adrenal gland diseases, malignant adrenocortical tumors, multiple sclerosis and so on. Moreover, reduced expression of NOV in ACTs may play an important role in the process of childhood ACT tumorigenesis. Though studying, it identified Nov as a regulator of human hematopoietic stem or progenitor cells.