The implication of protein phosphorylation in the mitogenic action of high density lipoproteins (HDL) on bovine vascular endothelial cells was investigated by incubating endothelial cell cultures in the presence of 32P-labeled phosphoric acid. The incorporation of 32P into proteins was measured after fractionation by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate and autoradiography of the gel. In endothelial cells seeded at low density and made quiescent by serum starvation, HDL markedly and consistently enhanced the degree of phosphorylation of a Mr 27,000 protein in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Using 500 micrograms/ml HDL, 32P labeling of the 27-kDa protein was already measurable after 10 min of incubation and reached a maximum at 20-30 min. Minimal effective dose of HDL during a 30-min incubation period was in the range of 5-10 micrograms/ml. While the apolipoprotein moiety of HDL was able to mimic the effect of total HDL, the lipid part of HDL was not. Furthermore, fibroblast growth factor appeared to potentiate the effect of HDL on 27-kDa protein phosphorylation, in agreement with the synergism observed between fibroblast growth factor and HDL on endothelial cell proliferation. Two activators of protein kinase C, 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate and 1-oleoyl-2-acetylglycerol also induced the phosphorylation of the 27-kDa protein. These results suggest that the 27-kDa protein may be a physiological substrate for protein kinase C and that HDL could exert their mitogenic effect on endothelial cells through activation of protein kinase C and subsequent protein phosphorylation.