Vascular endothelial cells (EC)are an important target of estrogen action through both the classical genomic (i.e. nuclear-initiated) activities of estrogen receptors ␣ and  (ER␣ and ER) and the rapid "nongenomic" (i.e. membrane-initiated) activation of ER that stimulates intracellular phosphorylation pathways. We tested the hypothesis that the red wine polyphenol trans-resveratrol activates MAPK signaling via rapid ER activation in bovine aortic EC, human umbilical vein EC, and human microvascular EC. We report that bovine aortic EC, human umbilical vein EC, and human microvascular EC express ER␣ and ER. We demonstrate that resveratrol and estradiol (E 2 ) rapidly activated MAPK in a MEK-1, Src, matrix metalloproteinase, and epidermal growth factor receptor-dependent manner. Importantly, resveratrol activated MAPK and endothelial nitric-oxide synthase (eNOS) at nM concentrations (i.e. an order of magnitude less than that required for ER genomic activity) and concentrations possibly achieved transiently in serum following oral red wine consumption. Co-treatment with ER antagonists ICI 182,780 or 4-hydroxytamoxifen blocked resveratrol-or E 2 -induced MAPK and eNOS activation, indicating ER dependence. We demonstrate for the first time that ER␣-and ER-selective agonists propylpyrazole triol and diarylpropionitrile, respectively, stimulate MAPK and eNOS activity. A red but not a white wine extract also activated MAPK, and activity was directly correlated with the resveratrol concentration. These data suggest that ER may play a role in the rapid effects of resveratrol in EC and that some of the atheroprotective effects of resveratrol may be mediated through rapid activation of ER signaling in EC.Epidemiological studies have indicated that the consumption of red wine reduces the incidence of mortality from coronary heart disease (CHD) 1 (1, 2). The cardioprotective effect has been attributed to the polyphenol fraction of red wine (1). A key polyphenol in red wine is resveratrol, trans-3,5,4Ј-trihydroxystilbene, from grape skin. Red wine contains 1-75 mg of transresveratrol/liter (3). Studies in male rats demonstrated that an alcohol-free red wine extract and resveratrol protect the heart from ischemia reperfusion injury (4). Rodent studies showed that orally administered resveratrol is absorbed in the gut, has high affinity for heart and liver (5, 6), and is metabolized to glucuronides that have a t1 ⁄2 of ϳ1.5 h (7). A recurrent question is whether resveratrol, at concentrations present in red wine, is effective in vivo. The oral absorption of 25 mg of trans-