Figure 1. Deficiency of Rock1 results in impaired early maturation of bone marrow derived mast cell (BMMC).

(A) Expression of ROCK isoforms in WT and Rock1−/− BMMCs. Equal amount of protein lysates from WT and Rock1−/− BMMCs were subjected to western blot analysis using a Rock1-specific antibody, Rock2-specific antibody and β-actin antibody as indicated. Expression of ROCK isoforms is indicated. (B) Deficiency of Rock1 delays the maturation of BMMCs. LDMNCs from WT and Rock1−/− mice were cultured in the presence of IL-3 (10 ng/mL) for 4 weeks. At indicated time points, maturation was analyzed by staining the cells with antibodies that recognize KIT and IgE receptor followed by flow cytometry. Shown is dot blot profile from one of three independent experiments. (C) Rock1 deficiency have no effect on IL-3 mediated growth of BMMCs. BMMCs from WT and Rock1−/− mice were starved for 6 hours in serum- and cytokine-free media and cultured in the presence or absence of IL-3 (10 ng/mL). After 48 hours, proliferation was evaluated by [³H] thymidine incorporation. Bars represent the mean [³H] thymidine incorporation in BMMCs (CPM + SD) from one representative experiment performed in quadruplicate. Similar results were observed in three independent experiments.