PKA-dependent dynein switching from lysosomes to adenovirus: A novel form of host–virus competition

Cytoplasmic dynein is responsible for transport of several viruses to the nucleus. Adenovirus recruits dynein directly. Transport depends on virus-induced activation of protein kinase A (PKA) and other cellular protein kinases, whose roles in infection are poorly understood. We find that PKA phosphorylates cytoplasmic dynein at a novel site in light intermediate chain 1 (LIC1) that is essential for dynein binding to the hexon capsid subunit and for virus motility. Surprisingly, the same LIC1 modification induces a slow, but specific, dispersal of lysosomes (lyso)/late endosomes (LEs) that is mediated by inhibition of a newly identified LIC1 interaction with the RILP (Rab7-interacting lysosomal protein). These results identify an organelle-specific dynein regulatory modification that adenovirus uses for its own transport. PKA-mediated LIC1 phosphorylation causes only partial lyso/LE dispersal, suggesting a role for additional, parallel mechanisms for dynein recruitment to lyso/LEs. This arrangement provides a novel means to fine tune transport of these organelles in response to infection as well as to developmental and physiological cues.