TY - JOUR T1 - Non-canonical activation of the ER stress sensor ATF6 by <em>Legionella pneumophila</em> effectors JF - Life Science Alliance JO - Life Sci. Alliance DO - 10.26508/lsa.202101247 VL - 4 IS - 12 SP - e202101247 AU - Nnejiuwa U Ibe AU - Advait Subramanian AU - Shaeri Mukherjee Y1 - 2021/12/01 UR - https://www.life-science-alliance.org/content/4/12/e202101247.abstract N2 - The intracellular bacterial pathogen Legionella pneumophila (L.p.) secretes ∼330 effector proteins into the host cell to sculpt an ER-derived replicative niche. We previously reported five L.p. effectors that inhibit IRE1, a key sensor of the homeostatic unfolded protein response (UPR) pathway. In this study, we discovered a subset of L.p. toxins that selectively activate the UPR sensor ATF6, resulting in its cleavage, nuclear translocation, and target gene transcription. In a deviation from the conventional model, this L.p.–dependent activation of ATF6 does not require its transport to the Golgi or its cleavage by the S1P/S2P proteases. We believe that our findings highlight the unique regulatory control that L.p. exerts upon the three UPR sensors and expand the repertoire of bacterial proteins that selectively perturb host homeostatic pathways. ER -