NOV, also called CCN3, is a secreted protein of CCN family members. CCN family members are highly conserved cysteine rich proteins sharing a common modular structure having 4 conserved domains, insulin-like growth factor-binding protein (IGFBP) domain, von Willebrand type C (VWC) domain, thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) domain, and C-terminal (CT) domain (absent in CCN5). By specific interactions with these domains, CCN proteins modulate multiple signalling pathways including BMPs, Wnt, TGFs, Notch and integrins to regulate cell proliferation, differentiation, adhesion, migration, angiogenesis, and survival. CCN3 is firstly characterized as a promoter of progenitor activity of human hematopoietic stem cells, as knockdown of CCN3 can abrogate the function of primitive progenitors. Recent studies showed that CCN3 is also actively involved in the process of wound healing. CCN3 is highly expressed in granulation tissues of cutaneous wounds and capable of inducing synthetic responses of fibroblasts.

The interplay between glioma stem cells (GSCs) and the tumor microenvironment plays crucial roles in promoting malignant growth of glioblastoma (GBM), the most lethal brain tumor. WISP1 is preferentially expressed and secreted by GSCs. Silencing WISP1 markedly disrupts GSC maintenance, reduces tumor-supportive TAMs (M2), and potently inhibits GBM growth. WISP1 signals through Integrin α6β1-Akt to maintain GSCs by an autocrine mechanism and M2 TAMs through a paracrine manner.

CCN4/Wnt-induced secreted protein 1 (WISP1) is a secreted, cysteine-rich, heparin-binding glycoprotein, belonging to the CCN (CTGF/CYR61/NOV) family of growth factors, and is involved in diverse biological functions such as cell growth, adhesion, migration, angiogenesis, tissue repair, and regulation of extracellular matrix. Members of the CCN family demonstrate high structural homology sharing four conserved cysteine-rich modular domains: an IGFBP (insulin-like growth factor-binding) domain, a von Willebrand type C domain, a thrombospondin domain and a C-terminal cysteine -knot domain. WISP1 is a putative downstream effector of the Wnt/Frizzled pathway that mediates diverse developmental processes, was identified as an oncogene regulated by the Wnt-1-beta-catenin pathway. Thus WISP1 may contribute to Wnt-1-mediated tumorigenesis and malignance. Expression of WISP1 in some cells results in transformation and tumorigenesis. WISP1 acts to block cell death at a late stage in the p53-mediated apoptosis pathway. It was reported that WISP1 interacts with sulfated glycoconjugates, decorin and biglycan in the ECM of connective tissue, and possibly prevents their inhibitory activity in tumor cell proliferation.