A novel role for syndecan-3 in angiogenesis

Syndecan-3 is one of the four members of the syndecan family of heparan sulphate proteoglycans and has been shown to interact with numerous growth factors via its heparan sulphate chains. The extracellular core proteins of syndecan-1,-2 and -4 all possess adhesion regulatory motifs and we hypothesized that syndecan-3 may also possess such characteristics. Here we show that a bacterially expressed GST fusion protein consisting of the entire mature syndecan-3 ectodomain has anti-angiogenic properties and acts via modulating endothelial cell migration. This work identifies syndecan-3 as a possible therapeutic target for anti-angiogenic therapy.