Extracellular lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) produces diverse cellular responses in many cell types. Recent reports of several molecularly distinct G protein-coupled receptors have raised the possibility that the responses to LPA stimulation could be mediated by the combination of several uni-functional receptors. To address this issue, we analyzed one receptor encoded by ventricular zone gene-1 ( vzg-1 ) (also referred to as lp A1 / edg-2 ) by using heterologous expression in a neuronal and nonneuronal cell line. VZG-1 expression was necessary and sufficient in mediating multiple effects of LPA: [ 3 H]-LPA binding, G protein activation, stress fiber formation, neurite retraction, serum response element activation, and increased DNA synthesis. These results demonstrate that a single receptor, encoded by vzg-1 , can activate multiple LPA-dependent responses in cells from distinct tissue lineages.