Specific fibronectin (Fn) fragments found in synovial fluid of arthritic joints potentially contribute to the loss of cartilage proteoglycans by inducing matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) expression. However, whether or not the Fn fragment-modulated changes in expression of MMPs result in a net increase in matrix-degradative activity through alterations in the balance between MMP activation and inhibition has not been established. To understand the mechanisms by which proteolytic Fn fragments may contribute to joint degeneration, conditioned medium from fibrocartilaginous cells exposed to Fn, its 30-kDa fragment containing the collagen/gelatin-binding domain, its 120-kDa fragment containing the central cell-binding domain, and the RGD peptide were assayed for MMPs, and MMP activators and inhibitors. We found that the 120-kDa fragment of Fn (but not intact Fn), the 30-kDa fragment, and the RGD peptide, dose-dependently induced procollagenase-1 and prostromelysin-1 and decreased levels of the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) -1 and -2. The alpha5beta1 integrin was implicated in the induction of collagenase by the 120-kDa Fn fragment, since collagenase induction was abrogated in the presence of blocking antibody to this integrin. Conditioned medium from cells exposed to the 120-kDa Fn fragment also demonstrated increased levels of the activated collagenase-1, which resulted in significantly elevated collagen degradative activity. That the urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) was involved in the activation of procollagenase-1 was suggested by findings that the 120-kDa Fn fragment induced uPA coordinately with procollagenase-1, and the activation of procollagenase-1 was dose-dependently inhibited in the presence of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1. These data demonstrate that the 120-kDa cell-binding fragment of Fn induces a net increase in matrix-degradative activity in fibrocartilaginous cells by concomitantly inducing MMPs and their activator, uPA, while decreasing TIMPs.