Glypican-1 (GPC1), a member of the glycosylphosphatidilinositol anchored cell surface heparan sulfate proteoglycans, is involved with cell adhesion and migration, lipoprotein metabolism, modulation of growth factor activites and anticoagulation. Glypican-1 binds to and modulates the activity of several fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) including FGF-1, FGF-2 and FGF-7. Glypican-1 acts as an extracellular chaperone for VEGF165 to help restore receptor binding ability after oxidation. The heparan sulfate chains of glypican-1 mediate specific binding of glypican-1 to VEGF165. When present on the surface of marrow stromal cells, glypican-1 may aid in the maintenance and development of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. Human pancreatic cancer cells express a large amount of glypican-1 when compared to glypican-1 levels in normal pancreatic cells. Glypican-1 may play an important role in the response of pancreatic cancer cells to mitogenic stimuli, such as FGF-2. The gene encoding human glypican-1 maps to chromosome 2q37.3.