Sphingosine 1-phosphate (Sph-1-P) is a bioactive lipid released from activated platelets and plays an important role in vascular biology. In this study, we investigated Sph-1-P-related metabolism in the blood vessel, mainly using radio-labeled Sph and Sph-1-P. Sph was metabolically stable in the plasma, while it was converted into Sph-1-P in the presence of activated platelets. When the mixture of Sph-1-P and plasma was fractionated on a gel-filtration column, all Sph-1-P co-eluted with protein fractions that coincide with lipoproteins and albumin by agarose gel electrophoresis. When evaluated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, 7.2 +/- 3.8%, 53.3 +/- 6.4%, and 39.5 +/- 7.9% of the radioactivity of Sph-1-P added to plasma was recovered in the low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and albumin fractions, respectively. On the other hand, 5.2 +/- 3.2%, 38.4 +/- 5.5%, and 56.3 +/- 5.7% of the radioactivity of Sph-1-P converted from Sph in collagen-stimulated platelets and released into the plasma was recovered in the LDL, HDL, and albumin fractions, respectively. When Sph-1-P release from activated platelets was examined, a stronger response was observed in the presence of albumin than lipoproteins, suggesting efficient Sph-1-P extraction from platelets by albumin. Finally, Sph-1-P, which is stable in the plasma, was markedly degraded by an ectophosphatase activity in the presence of vascular endothelial cells or in whole blood. Although Sph-1-P is stable in the plasma, it is likely that the level of this bioactive lipid is dynamically controlled by various factors including release from platelets, distribution among plasma proteins, and degradation by ectophosphatase.