Cell-autonomous requirement for NKAP in HSC maintenance and survival. (A) Schematic representation of the experimental design to generate WT and Mx1-cre NKAP cKO mixed radiation chimeras. In the study of mixed chimeras here and in subsequent figures, WT littermate cells are denoted by blue, Mx1-cre NKAP cKO cells are denoted by red, and competing SJL⁺ cells are in gray. Longitudinal study evaluating Gr1⁺ peripheral blood for the relative contribution of WT littermate and Mx1-cre NKAP cKO (CD45.2⁺CD45.1⁻), compared with competing WT SJL (CD45.2⁺CD45.1⁺) after poly-IC induction. Shown is representative data from 4 WT/SJL and 4 cKO/SJL mixed chimeras. (B) Analysis of contribution of each donor to the HSC pool in the mixed chimeras 12 days after poly-IC induction. Shown is representative data from 2 WT/SJL and 2 cKO/SJL mixed chimeras.