NFKB1 and infection: In light of this important finding and our published work on the activation of both NF-κB and STAT-3 signaling pathways during infection of human ECs with R. rickettsii and R. conorii [10,11], this study was undertaken to investigate the activation of mTOR complexes C1 and C2 and induction of autophagy using established in vitro models of infection.