Maea deletion disrupts BM EI niche. (A) Representative photograph of dissected femurs from control and Maea^Csf1r-Cre mice. (B-C) Representative FACS gating strategy and quantification showing significant reduction of BM EBs in Maea^Csf1r-Cre mice (n = 8). (D) Representative FACS plots and quantification showing impaired in vivo formation of BM EIs (F4/80⁺Ter119⁺ live multiplets) in Maea^Csf1r-Cre mice (n = 3). (E) Quantification of EBs at various stages of maturation (n = 8) (I, pro-EBs; II, basophilic EBs; III, polychromatic EBs; IV, orthochromatic EBs and reticulocytes; V, mature RBCs). Data are shown as mean plus or minus SEM. *P < .05, **P < .01, ***P < .001, ****P < .0001 by unpaired Student t test.