The cysteine proteinase cathepsin B (EC 3.4.22.1) is believed to take part in biochemical processes underlying tumor metastasis. In the present study, the cellular localization, intracellular levels and extracellular release of cathepsin B activity were examined in vitro in cells of two rat sarcoma variants, LW13K2 and RPS, differing in their capacity to metastasize spontaneously to the lung of syngeneic LEW/CUB rats. The LW13K2 sarcoma metastasizes rarely, whereas the LW13K2-derived RPS variant produces a metastasis incidence of above 50%. Using fluorescent cytochemical staining, microgranular reaction centers of cathepsin B were observed in the cell cytoplasm, in some cellular processes, with apical localization in some of them, as well as at the extreme cell periphery in cells of both sarcoma variants. The appearance of this distribution of cathepsin B activity was delayed in the RPS variant. Biochemically, the intracellular level of cathepsin B activity was significantly higher in homogenates of LW13K2 cells than RPS cells. In contrast to the intracellular enzyme activity, RPS cells cultured in serum-free medium at pH 6.5 released a substantially higher amount of cathepsin B activity than LW13K2 cells into the extracellular environment; at pH 7.4 the initially higher release of cathepsin B activity from RPS cells later equalized with that from LW13K2 cells. Taken together, the results indicate that changes of pericellular pH can modulate the extracellular release of cathepsin B in both sarcoma cell variants and suggest that the rate of cathepsin B release under conditions of mildly acid pericellular pH could be related to the incidence of metastases observed in these rat sarcoma variants. Total intracellular cathepsin B activity did not exhibit positive correlation with the metastatic potential of the studied rat sarcoma variants.