The simplest way to isolate mast cells is to rinse peritoneal cavity of the animal with buffered saline and collecty the cells suspended in the rinse. In the case of rat or mouse, there should be approximately 5 - 10 % of mast cells, the remaining cells are monocytes and lymphocytes. About 30 % of dry mass of mast cells are serine proteases (e.g. Nature, 213: 1198, 1967) and there are fluorochrome markers which can be used to label active centers of these enzymes or fluorogenic substrates for proteases (e.g. Richard Haugland's Handbook of Fluorescent Probes, Chapter 10, section 6). Zbigniew Darzynkiewicz
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