Analysis of Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Activation

The biological functions of mast cells are regulated by several protein kinases, including the tyrosine kinases Fyn, Lyn, Syk, and FAK and the serine/threonine kinases Akt and PKC α/β. The mitogen-activated protein kinases extracellular signal-regulated kinases, JNK, and p38MAPK also play a significant role in the regulation of mast cell biological function. This chapter will detail recent advances in determining mitogen-activated protein kinase activation in single cells. These methods are applicable to studies of signal transduction in mast cells.