Microarray analysis of naïve bone marrow derived mast cells (BMMCs) and BMMCs 4hr post ionomycin activation

Gene expression profile of BMMCs four hours post activation with ionomycin compared to naive BMMCs. We sought to determine the gene expression changes that occur in BMMCs 4 hours post degranulation using ionomycin. This time point was selected to identy genes that may get upregulated beyond the initial set of genes involved in degranulation which occurs within minutes of activation. To do this, BMMCs were washed into Tyrode's buffer and then activated using 1 μg/ml ionomycin for 1 hour. Cells were then washed three times with Tyrode's buffer and resuspended in cell media for three hours. RNA was extracted from these cells and compared to RNA extracted from control BMMCs.