The regulation of the secretion of lipoprotein lipase was studied in primary cultures of mouse peritoneal macrophages and in the murine macrophage cell line J774. As previously reported, both cell types secrete a lipase with the characteristics of lipoprotein lipase. Incubation of macrophages with insulin, insulin-like growth factor, and L-thyroxine had no effect on lipoprotein lipase secretion. Incubation with dexamethasone and with several agents which increase intracellular cyclic AMP led to a decrease in lipoprotein lipase secretion by mouse peritoneal macrophages. These results suggest that the hormonal regulation of lipoprotein lipase in macrophages is different from that in adipose tissue and heart muscle. Incubation of the macrophages with heparin caused a marked increase in the secretion of lipoprotein lipase. Short incubations with heparin (5 min) caused a release of the enzyme into the media, while longer incubations caused a 2-8-fold increase in net lipoprotein lipase secretion which was maximal after 2-16 h depending on cell type, and persisted for 24 h. The effect of heparin was dose-dependent and specific (it was not duplicated by other glycosaminoglycans). The mechanism of heparin-induced increase in lipoprotein lipase secretion was explored. The increase was not caused by the release of a presynthesized intracellular pool of lipoprotein lipase or by the stabilization of lipoprotein lipase by heparin after secretion. The heparin-induced increase in lipoprotein lipase secretion was dependent on protein synthesis. The secretion of lipoprotein lipase by macrophages in response to low levels of heparin may be a significant factor in the formation of atherosclerotic lesions.