The integrated stress response pathway activates 4E-BP to bias mRNA translation and boost antimicrobial peptide synthesis in response to bacterial infection
Pathogenic bacterial infection imposes considerable cellular stress on the host and often leads to attenuation of mRNA translation. In this translation-suppressive environment, it is unclear how the host synthesizes various antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) to mount innate immune response. Here, we use Drosophila as a model to demonstrate that AMP production during infection relies on a translation bias mechanism mediated by the inhibitor of cap-dependent translation 4E-BP ( Drosophila Thor), and the AMP 5′ UTRs that can undergo cap-independent translation. We found that 4E-BP is induced upon infection with the pathogenic bacteria Ecc15 by the stress-responsive transcription factor ATF4, and its upstream kinase GCN2. Moreover, loss of gcn2 , atf4 or 4e-bp compromised immunity against Ecc15 . In 4E-BP mutants, the transcriptional induction of AMPs after infection was unaffected, while the protein levels of AMPs were substantially reduced in their hemolymph. Analysis of the 5′ UTRs of AMPs using cell-based bicistronic reporters and in vitro translation analysis indicated that AMPs are translated in a cap-independent mechanism. Analysis of bicistronic reporters in the presence of 4E-BP indicate that infection enhances cap-independent translational activity associated with AMP 5′ UTRs, accounting for enhanced AMP translation during infection.