Syndecan-4, a heparan sulfate proteoglycan that is widely expressed in the vascular wall and as a cell surface receptor, modulates events relevant to acute tissue repair, including cell migration and proliferation, cell-substrate interactions, and matrix remodeling. While syndecan-4 expression is regulated in response to acute vascular wall injury, its regulation under chronic proatherogenic conditions such as those characterized by prolonged exposure to oxidized lipids has not been defined. In this investigation, arterial smooth muscle cells were treated with 13-hydroperoxy-9,11-octadecadienoic acid (HPODE) and 13-hydroperoxy-10,12-octadecadienoic acid, oxidized products of linoleic acid, which is the major oxidizable fatty acid in LDL. Both oxidized fatty acids induced a dose-dependent, rapid upregulation of syndecan-4 mRNA expression that was not attenuated by cycloheximide. This response was inhibited by pretreatment with N-acetylcysteine, catalase, or MEK1/2 inhibitors, but not by curcumin or lactacystin, known inhibitors of NF-kappaB. These data suggest that oxidized linoleic acid induces syndecan-4 mRNA expression through the initial generation of intracellular hydrogen peroxide with subsequent activation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase signaling pathway via MEK1/2. Notably, the HPODE-induced enhancement of syndecan-4 mRNA was accompanied by accelerated shedding of syndecan-4. In principle, alterations in both the cell surface expression and shedding of syndecan-4 may augment a variety of proatherogenic events that occur in response to oxidized lipids.