Whereas exogenous types IB and X secretory phospholipase A(2) (sPLA(2)) elicited prostaglandin D-2 (PGD(2)) production in mouse bone marrow-derived mast cells (BMMC), sPLA(2)-IIA was unable to do so. In search of a mechanism underlying this cellular refractoriness to exogenous sPLA(2)-ILA, we now report that this isozyme is promptly associated with cell surfaces, internalized, and then degraded in BMMC. Adsorption of sPLA(2)-IIA to BMMC was prevented by addition of heparin to the medium. Moreover, a heparin-nonbinding sPLA(2)-IIA mutant did not bind to BMMC. These results indicate that this sPLA(2)-IIA inactivation process depends on its rapid binding to heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG) on BMMC surfaces. Thus, the present observations represent a particular situation in which cell surface HSPG exhibit a negative regulatory effect on cellular function of sPLA(2)-IIA, and argue that HSPG does not always act as a functional adapter for heparin-binding sPLA(2)s in mammalian cells as has been demonstrated before.