It is well established that thrombin induces various biological responses in endothelial cells derived from large vessels. However, little is known about the effects of thrombin on the microvasculature. Protein phosphorylation may be one of the mechanisms by which an extracellular stimulus initiates cellular events like proliferation. Therefore, we have compared the effects of either human alpha-thrombin or phorbol esters (TPA) on the proliferation or protein phosphorylation in endothelial cells derived from large vessels (umbilical vein, HUVEC) or microvessels (omental tissue, HOMEC). In HOMEC, thrombin did not stimulate cell proliferation and protein phosphorylation while TPA slightly reduced the cell proliferation and induced the phosphorylation of a 27-kDa protein. In contrast, in HUVEC, thrombin or TPA markedly enhanced the cell proliferation and stimulated the phosphorylation of a 59-kDa protein. These data indicate that (i) endothelial cells from large and small vessels respond differently to thrombin and (ii) there is a complex and as yet unclear relationship between the proliferation and the protein phosphorylation induced by thrombin.