protein_function:
IGDCC4, also known as NOPE, plays essential roles in biologic functions of the cell surface, including cell adhesion, cell migration, and signal transduction. NOPE is identified as an oncofetal marker of murine and human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Its expression is elevated in mouse and human hepatoma cell lines and in mouse hepatomas, but it is not expressed in normal liver or preneoplastic mouse HCC. Furthermore, NOPE is expressed in both AFP -positive and -negative tumors and is specifically expressed in epithelial tumor cells.