The present invention provides a method for treating a human patient with a pathology by administering to the subject an effective amount of an agent selected from the group of: native full-length CCN3 proteins; analog CCN3 full-length proteins with native cysteine residues substituted by a replacement amino acid; CCNp native peptide fragments having from about 12 to about 20 amino acids; analog CCNp peptide fragments with native cysteine residues substituted with a replacement amino acid; and combinations thereof.