We have investigated the effects of wortmannin, an inhibitor of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase), on antigen-mediated signaling in the RBL-2H3 mast cell model. In RBL-2H3 cells, the cross-linking of high affinity IgE receptors (FcER1) activates at least two cytoplasmic protein tyrosine kinases, Lyn and Syk, and stimulates secretion, membrane ruffling, spreading, pinocytosis, and the formation of actin plaques implicated in increased cell-substrate adhesion. In addition, FcER1 cross-linking activates PI 3-kinase. It was previously shown that wortmannin causes a dose-dependent inhibition of PI 3-kinase activity and also inhibits antigen-stimulated degranulation. We report that the antigen-induced synthesis of inositol(1,4,5)P3 is also markedly inhibited by wortmannin. Consistent with evidence in other cell systems implicating phosphatidylinositol(3,4,5)P3 in ruffling, pretreatment of