Venous and arterial large vessel endothelial cells (EC) were compared for their constitutive and TNF-alpha-induced expression of the cell-surface adhesion molecules ICAM-1 and -2, VCAM-1 and ELAM-1 by FACS analysis. Human iliac venous and arterial EC (HIVEC and HIAEC) constitutively express ICAM-1 and ICAM-2. TNF-alpha increases the expression of ICAM-1, but not ICAM-2, and induces the expression of ELAM-1 on both EC types. However, TNF-alpha induces VCAM-1 cell-surface expression and mRNA only in venous, but not in arterial EC. We next investigated the function of these adhesion molecules and their ligands, LFA-1, very late activation Ag (WLA-L) and sialylated Lewis x glycoprotein (sLe(x)), in adhesion assays with the monocyte-like cell line U937. Untreated U937 cells do not adhere to untreated HIVEC or HIAEC and adhesion is much lower to TNF-alpha-treated arterial than to TNF-alpha-treated venous EC. In adhesion-inhibition assays we demonstrate that U937 cell adhesion to TNF-alpha-treated HIVEC is mediated by VCAM-1/VLA-4 and ELAM-1/sLe(x) interaction, whereas the lower adhesion to TNF-alpha-treated HIAEC is only mediated by ELAM-1/sLe(x) interaction. U937 cells treated with the phorbol ester PMA for 3 days adhere to both HIVEC and HIAEC; this adhesion is mediated by LFA-1 interaction with ICAM-1 and/or -2. Adhesion of PMA-treated U937 cells is increased by TNF-alpha treatment of EC. This increased adhesion is mediated in part by the TNF-alpha-induced VCAM-1 expression on venous EC. Therefore, the cell-surface adhesion molecule VCAM-1 is differentially induced on these two EC types and the differential expression is functionally important in U937 cell adhesion.