Heparanase is an endo-b-D-glucuronidase capable of cleaving heparan sul-fate side chains at a limited number of sites, yielding heparan sulfate frag-ments of still appreciable size. Importantly, heparanase activity correlates with the metastatic potential of tumor-derived cells, attributed to enhanced cell dissemination as a consequence of heparan sulfate cleavage and remod-eling of the extracellular matrix and basement membrane underlying epithe-lial and endothelial cells.
