Inhibitory signaling via the HLA-E axis significantly inhibits degranulation and granzyme B release of both CD56bright and CD56dim NK cells, as demonstrated by co-culturing NK cells with A549 (NSCLC) targets cells pre-stimulated with IFN-γ to upregulate HLA-E expression (Fig. 6j,k and Extended Data Fig. 9a–e). Here, IFNG is linked to non-small cell lung carcinoma.