No abstract

Expression of the adenovirus protein RIDα rescues the cholesterol storage phenotype in NPC1-deficient cells by inducing formation of lipid droplets. The function of RIDα is independent of NPC1 but dependent on NPC2 and the oxysterol-binding protein ORP1L. This study provides the first evidence that ORP1L plays a role in sterol transport and LD formation.

The small guanosine triphosphatase Rab7 regulates late endocytic trafficking. Rab7-interacting lysosomal protein (RILP) and oxysterol-binding protein–related protein 1L (ORP1L) are guanosine triphosphate (GTP)–Rab7 effectors that instigate minus end–directed microtubule transport. We demonstrate that RILP and ORP1L both interact with the group C adenovirus protein known as receptor internalization and degradation α (RIDα), which was previously shown to clear the cell surface of several membrane proteins, including the epidermal growth factor receptor and Fas (Carlin, C.R., A.E. Tollefson, H.A. Brady, B.L. Hoffman, and W.S. Wold. 1989. Cell. 57:135–144; Shisler, J., C. Yang, B. Walter, C.F. Ware, and L.R. Gooding. 1997. J. Virol. 71:8299–8306). RIDα localizes to endocytic vesicles but is not homologous to Rab7 and is not catalytically active. We show that RIDα compensates for reduced Rab7 or dominant-negative (DN) Rab7(T22N) expression. In vitro, Cu2+ binding to RIDα residues His75 and His76 facilitates the RILP interaction. Site-directed mutagenesis of these His residues results in the loss of RIDα–RILP interaction and RIDα activity in cells. Additionally, expression of the RILP DN C-terminal region hinders RIDα activity during an acute adenovirus infection. We conclude that RIDα coordinates recruitment of these GTP-Rab7 effectors to compartments that would ordinarily be perceived as early endosomes, thereby promoting the degradation of selected cargo.