Immune-modulating therapies have revolutionized the treatment of chronic diseases, particularly cancer. However, their success is restricted and there is a need to identify new therapeutic targets. Here, we show that natural killer cell granule protein 7 (NKG7) is a regulator of lymphocyte granule exocytosis and downstream inflammation in a broad range of diseases. NKG7 expressed by CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells played key roles in promoting inflammation during visceral leishmaniasis and malaria—two important parasitic diseases. Additionally, NKG7 expressed by natural killer cells was critical for controlling cancer initiation, growth and metastasis. NKG7 function in natural killer and CD8⁺ T cells was linked with their ability to regulate the translocation of CD107a to the cell surface and kill cellular targets, while NKG7 also had a major impact on CD4⁺ T cell activation following infection. Thus, we report a novel therapeutic target expressed on a range of immune cells with functions in different immune responses.

免疫调节疗法彻底改变了慢性疾病的治疗，尤其是癌症。然而，它们的成功受到限制，需要确定新的治疗靶点。在这里，我们表明自然杀伤细胞颗粒蛋白 7 (NKG7) 是多种疾病中淋巴细胞颗粒胞吐作用和下游炎症的调节剂。由 CD4 ⁺和 CD8 ⁺ T 细胞表达的 NKG7在促进内脏利什曼病和疟疾（两种重要的寄生虫病）的炎症中起关键作用。此外，自然杀伤细胞表达的 NKG7 对于控制癌症的发生、生长和转移至关重要。NKG7 功能在自然杀手和 CD8 ⁺T 细胞与其调节 CD107a 向细胞表面易位并杀死细胞靶标的能力有关，而 NKG7 也对感染后的CD4 ⁺ T 细胞活化产生重大影响。因此，我们报告了在具有不同免疫反应功能的一系列免疫细胞上表达的新型治疗靶点。