Pathogen signatures activate a ubiquitination pathway that modulates the function of the metabolic checkpoint kinase mTOR

The mammalian immune system has the ability to discriminate between pathogenic microbes and nonpathogenic microbes to control inflammation. Here we investigated the ubiquitination profiles of host proteins after infection of macrophages with a virulent strain of the intracellular bacterium Legionella pneumophila or a nonpathogenic mutant of L. pneumophila. Only infection with pathogenic L. pneumophila resulted in ubiquitination of positive regulators of the metabolic checkpoint kinase mTOR and led to diminished mTOR activity. Detection of pathogen signatures resulted in translational biasing toward proinflammatory cytokines through mTOR-mediated regulation of cap-dependent translation. Thus, there is a pathogen-detection program in macrophages that stimulates protein ubiquitination and the degradation of regulators of mTOR, which suppresses mTOR function and directs a proinflammatory cytokine program.