Abstract.
Heparanase is an endoglycosidase that degrades heparan sulfate on the cell surface and extracellular matrix. The physiological functions of heparanase include heparan sulfate turnover, embryo development, hair growth, and wound healing. Heparanase is implicated in a variety of pathologies, such as tumor growth, angiogenesis, metastasis, inflammation, and glomerular diseases. Heparanase overexpression in a variety of malignant tumors suggests that it could be a target for anti-cancer therapy.
Keywords. Cancer progression, extracellular matrix, heparin, heparanase, angiogenesis, alternative splicing, metastasis, hypoxia
Footnotes
Received 22 December 2007; received after revision 25 December 2007; accepted 29 January 2008