Fig. 5.

Speculative model for how decreased progranulin levels may result in premature cell death. In normal animals, a cell experiencing a sublethal insult has sufficient time to recover because progranulin slows the rate of engulfment. In an animal with insufficient progranulin, a cell experiencing a sublethal insult has inadequate time to repair itself before engulfment by phagocytic cells. In this situation, the balance of events may tip toward increased cell loss after what would otherwise be a nonlethal insult.