Protection of mast-cell death by IL-3 results in significantly decreased phagocytosis by DCs. Fluorescently labeled BMDCs were cocultured with BMMCs that previously incorporated fluorescent OVA through anti-OVA IgE in the presence or absence of IL-3. Images of the cocultures were captured by a fluorescent microscope every 7 minutes for 10 hours. The number of phagocytosed mast cells was counted and divided by the total number of mast cells observed per 400× field. The mean plus or minus SEM of 5 independent fields for each condition is represented in the bar graph (*P < .03).