Zhx2-mediated a cell-intrinsic role in NK cell homeostasis. (A) Experimental design of congenic BM chimera assay. (B and C) FACS plots and bar graphs represent the ratio of CD45.2⁺ and CD45.1⁺ NK (pregated on CD3⁻NK1.1⁺CD49b⁺ NK subsets; B) and the percentages of NK cell subsets (C) as retrieved from the spleen of mixed BM chimeras (representative of three independent experiments). FSC, forward scatter. (D) Representation of noncompetitive BM chimera. DN, double negative. (E and F) Representative flow plots and summary data showing the percentage of CD45.2⁺CD3⁻NK1.1⁺CD49b⁺ cells (E) and the percentages of NK cell subsets (F) as retrieved from the spleen of BM chimeras from Zhx2^+/+ and Zhx2^Δ/Δ mice (representative of three independent experiments). For all figures, dots represent data from individual mice, and error bars represent SEM per group in one experiment. Data were analyzed using Student’s t test (two-tailed paired t test). *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01; ***, P < 0.001.