When shed from the cell surface, the heparan sulfate proteoglycan syndecan-1 can facilitate
the growth, angiogenesis, and metastasis of tumors. Here we report that tumor cell
expression of heparanase, an enzyme known to be a potent promoter of tumor progression
and metastasis, regulates both the level and location of syndecan-1 within the tumor
microenvironment by enhancing its synthesis and subsequent shedding from the tumor cell
surface. Heparanase regulation of syndecan-1 is detected in both human myeloma and …