Aggregation of the Fc⑀RI, a member of the immune receptor family, induces the activation of proteintyrosine kinases and results in tyrosine phosphorylation of proteins that are involved in downstream signaling pathways. Here we report that Pyk2, another member of the focal adhesion kinase family, was present in the RBL-2H3 mast cell line and was rapidly tyrosinephosphorylated and activated after Fc⑀RI aggregation. Tyrosine phosphorylation of Pyk2 was also induced by the calcium ionophore A23187, by phorbol myristate acetate, or by stimulation of G-protein-coupled receptors. Adherence of cells to fibronectin dramatically enhanced the induced tyrosine phosphorylation of Pyk2. Although Src family kinases are activated by Fc⑀RI stimulation and tyrosine-phosphorylate the receptor subunits, the activation and tyrosine phosphorylation of Pyk2 were downstream of Syk. In contrast, tyrosine phosphorylation of Pyk2 by stimulation of G-protein-coupled receptors was independent of Syk. Therefore, the Fc⑀RI-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of Pyk2 is downstream of Syk and may play a role in cell secretion.The aggregation of the Fc⑀RI 1 on basophils or mast cells initiates a cascade of biochemical events that results in degranulation and the release of inflammatory mediators (1, 2). Tyrosine phosphorylation of proteins plays a critical role in this signal transduction pathway (3-8). Among the signal transduction molecules that are tyrosine-phosphorylated are the  and ␥ subunits of the receptor, Lyn, Syk, phospholipase C-␥1 and -␥2, Vav, Btk, and the focal adhesion kinase FAK (9 -15). One of the earliest events after aggregation of Fc⑀RI is the activation of protein-tyrosine kinases, probably Lyn or another Src family kinase, that results in the tyrosine phosphorylation of the  and ␥ subunits of the receptor (9, 16). The proteintyrosine kinase Syk is then recruited by the tyrosine-phosphorylated receptor and is critical for the downstream activation signals (11,(17)(18)(19). For example, Fc⑀RI aggregation in a Sykdeficient mast cell line does not mobilize Ca 2ϩ from intracellular and extracellular sources and fails to propagate downstream signaling events (20).Previously we observed that Fc⑀RI aggregation results in the tyrosine phosphorylation of ϳ115-kDa proteins in the rat basophilic leukemia RBL-2H3 mast cell line (21,22). Two of these proteins were identified as FAK and the cell surface adhesion molecule CD31 (15,23). Recently Pyk2 was identified as another member of the FAK family of protein-tyrosine kinases (24 -26). Pyk2 (also called RAFTK for related adhesion focal tyrosine kinase, CAK for cell adhesion kinase , CADTK and FAK2) is a cytoplasmic protein-tyrosine kinase that, like FAK, lacks a transmembrane region, myristoylation sites, and Src homology 2 and 3 domains. Both FAK and Pyk2 have a central kinase region flanked by large N-terminal and C-terminal domains. Pyk2 is expressed in neuronal cells, CD34ϩ bone marrow cells, primary bone marrow megakaryocytes, platelets, and T and B cells (24,26,27).