Methods for Analyzing Sphingosine-1-Phosphate Signaling in Human and Mouse Primary Mast Cells

Mast cells produce a potently bioactive sphingolipid metabolite sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) constitutively and upon activation. The ligation of S1P to its type 2 receptor on mast cells triggers a novel downstream signaling pathway that we discovered links activation of transcription factor signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 to mast cell-derived chemokine release in both humans and mice. In this chapter, we describe the methods used to study S1P signaling in human and mouse primary mast cells.