To determine whether this defective inflammatory response of Hri -/- macrophages to LPS reflects a role for HRI in the cellular response to infection with bacterial pathogens, TNFα expression was measured in Hri +/+ and Hri -/- primary macrophages infected with either Yersinia pseudotuberculosis or Listeria monocytogenes. The gene discussed is EIF2AK1; the disease is infection.