A variety of cell surface adhesion molecules can exist as both transmembrane proteins and
soluble circulating forms. Increases in the levels of soluble adhesion molecules have been
correlated with a variety of inflammatory diseases, suggesting a pathological role. Although
soluble forms are thought to result from proteolytic cleavage from the cell surface, relatively
little is known about the proteases responsible for their release. In this report we
demonstrate that under normal culture conditions, cells expressing vascular cell adhesion …