In a wide variety of tumor types, the expression of stromelysin 1 which is one of the matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) has been shown to correlate with tumor invasion. However, little is known about the distribution of stromelysin in human brain tumors. We have previously shown that a correlation exists between the type IV collagenases, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-1 and TIMP-2 transcripts and in vitro invasiveness among 7 human astrocytoma cell lines. In the present study, we analyzed the expression of stromelysin 1 among the same panel of human astrocytoma cell lines and human fibroblasts by northern blot analyses and in situ hybridization. Northern blot analysis demonstrated that SF-126 and U87 MG expressed high level stromelysin 1 transcripts. Following heat shock stimulation, the stromelysin 1 transcript was up-regulated in U87 MG astrocytoma cells. In situ hybridization analysis showed specific intracytoplasmic localization of mRNA for stromelysin in these astrocytoma cell lines. By casein zymography, we have determined that both SF-126 and U87 MG secreted stromelysin 1 protein. We conclude that stromelysin 1 is expressed by certain human astrocytoma cell lines, and this study confirms the importance of continuing to characterize the proteolytic enzyme profile of these tumors to fully understand the molecular mechanisms involved in astrocytoma invasiveness.