Mouse Nov gene is expressed in hypaxial musculature and cranial structuresderived from neural crest cells and placodes

NOV is a member of an emerging family of proteins, the CCN family, implicat ed in the control of cell growth and differentiation. During mouse developm ent Nov is expressed predominantly in the skeletal and visceral muscles and in the nervous system. Transcripts are first detected in muscle precursor cells from 10.0 dpc and later in the hypaxial muscles of the trunk and shou lder/hip, as well as in the muscles of the head and in the smooth muscle of major vessels. In the nervous system, Nov is observed in the somatic motor neurons of the spinal cord from 12.5 dpc and in cranial structures derived either from neural crest cells or placodes, including V, VII, VIII, and IX ganglia and olfactory neuroepithelia, (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.