[7][8][9] CTGF has important roles in many biological processes, including cell adhesion, migration, proliferation, angiogenesis, skeletal development, and tissue wound repair, and is critically involved in fibrotic disease and several forms of cancers.

[5][6] Knockout mice with the Ctgf gene disrupted die at birth due to respiratory stress as a result of severe chondrodysplasia.

[9][23] It is thought that CTGF can cooperate with TGF-β to induce sustained fibrosis[24] and to exacerbate extracellular matrix production in association other fibrosis-inducing conditions.

[26] In addition to fibrosis, aberrant CTGF expression is also associated with many types of malignancies, diabetic nephropathy[27] and retinopathy, arthritis, and cardiovascular diseases.

Several clinical trials are now ongoing that investigate the therapeutic value of targeting CTGF in fibrosis, diabetic nephropathy, and pancreatic cancer.