Background:
GPNMB also known as HGFIN osteoactivin and DC-HIL is a type I membrane glycoprotein involved in various biological processes including inflammation invasion and metastasis of malignant tumors cell differentiation and tissue regeneration.GPNMB shows expression in the lowly metastatic human melanoma cell lines and xenografts but does not show expression in the highly metastatic cell lines.GPNMB acts as an osteogenic factor that stimulates osteoblast differentiation in vivo and in vitro.