The inflammatory response in acute gouty arthritis is in large part a result of the interaction between neutrophils and monosodium urate (MSU) crystals. The tyrosine kinase Syk, which has been largely associated with the phagocytic response by Fc receptors and with spreading mediated by integrins, has been identified as one of the major proteins tyrosine-phosphorylated in human neutrophils upon stimulation by MSU crystals and is known to be mediated in part by the Fc receptor, CD16. This has led to the present examination of the implication of Syk in the activation pathways used by MSU crystals. The tyrosine-phosphorylation patterns induced by MSU crystals and by the ligation of CD16 were inhibited by piceatannol, which, conversely, only slightly delayed but did not diminish the peak of tyrosine phosphorylation induced by cross-linking CD32 or by the addition of fMet-Leu-Phe. Moreover, piceatannol inhibited the activity of Syk as monitored by in vitro kinase assays, by its in situ tyrosine phosphorylation, and by its activity toward exogenous substrates after stimulation by MSU crystals. We also measured the impact of piceatannol on the mobilization of calcium, the production of superoxide anions, and the activity of PLD stimulated by MSU crystals. We noted a distinct inhibition of all these responses by piceatannol. Finally, the morphological changes observed in neutrophils as characteristic of MSU crystal internalization were diminished significantly by piceatannol. The results obtained show that Syk plays a critical and central role in the signal-transduction pathways called upon by MSU crystals subsequent to their interaction with human neutrophils.