Endothelial cells in culture synthesize the growth factors transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), platelet derived growth factor (PDGF) and, perhaps, insulin like growth factor I (IGF-I). We have previously demonstrated that IGF-I and PDGF have both high affinity receptors and stimulate glucose and AIB uptake in the microvessel cells under study and that IGF-I, but not PDGF, has similar high affinity receptors in cultured large vessel endothelial cells. In the present study, cultured bovine endothelial cells were exposed to these four growth factors to determine a) their effects on the acute metabolic processes of neutral amino acid (AIB) and glucose uptake and b) their interactions at the endothelial cell surface. In microvessel endothelial cells, each growth factor stimulated AIB and glucose uptake 2-4 fold whereas in large vessel endothelial cells only bFGF stimulated glucose uptake. Each growth factor had specific high affinity binding to the microvessel cells that was not influenced by the presence of the other growth factors. In large vessel endothelial cells, similar high affinity binding was present only for IGF-I and to a lesser degree TGF-beta. When cells were exposed to a given growth factor for 18 hours, homologous receptor downregulation was observed, with a maximal 60-95% decrease in surface binding. These findings suggest several potential levels of interaction of the growth factors TGF-beta, bFGF, PDGF and IGF-I in cultured vascular endothelial cells.