NK cells and DCs develop simultaneously through a common CD44^bright intermediate stage. Cells derived from CD34⁺CD33^lo thymoctes cultured with IL-7, IL-1α, IL-6, SCF, and GM-CSF were recovered at day 2 and cultured for 5 additional days with the same cytokine mixture either with or without IL-2. (A) Shows CD44 expression versus cell size (FS, forward scatter; left plot) and the correlated expression of CD7 and CD13 on electronically gated CD44^bright large (forward scatter >350) cells (right plot) at day 2. (B) Shows the kinetics of CD7 and CD13 expression on electronically gated CD44^bright large cells recovered at the time points indicated after reculture with the cytokine mixture either with or without IL-2.