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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 Jan 1.
Published in final edited form as: Mech Ageing Dev. 2013 Dec 18;135:33–40. doi: 10.1016/j.mad.2013.11.007

Figure 6. Proposed model for the effects of aging on NK cells.

Figure 6

NK cells from aged mice proceed normally through the first stages of development, but because of reduced expansion during maturation, the percentage of mature NK cells ready to traffic to the periphery is significantly reduced. Overall altered distribution of NK cell subsets with reduced maturation status in the circulation of aged mice can have severe implications in their immune responses to viral infections and cancers (modified from (Di Santo, 2006; Yokoyama et al., 2004).