KIF13A motors are regulated by Rab22A to function as weak dimers inside the cell

Endocytic recycling is a complex itinerary, critical for many cellular processes. Membrane tubulation is a hallmark of recycling endosomes (REs), mediated by KIF13A, a kinesin-3 family motor. Understanding the regulatory mechanism of KIF13A in RE tubulation and cargo recycling is of fundamental importance but is overlooked. Here, we report a unique mechanism of KIF13A dimerization modulated by Rab22A, a small guanosine triphosphatase, during RE tubulation. A conserved proline between neck coil–coiled-coil (NC-CC1) domains of KIF13A creates steric hindrance, rendering the motors as inactive monomers. Rab22A plays an unusual role by binding to NC-CC1 domains of KIF13A, relieving proline-mediated inhibition and facilitating motor dimerization. As a result, KIF13A motors produce balanced motility and force against multiple dyneins in a molecular tug-of-war to regulate RE tubulation and homeostasis. Together, our findings demonstrate that KIF13A motors are tuned at a single-molecule level to function as weak dimers on the cellular cargo.