Spatial decoding of endosomal cAMP signals by a metastable cytoplasmic PKA network

GPCR-regulated cAMP production from endosomes can specify signaling to the nucleus by moving the source of cAMP without changing its amount. How this is possible remains unknown because cAMP gradients dissipate over the nanoscale whereas endosomes typically localize microns from the nucleus. We show that the key location-dependent step for endosome-encoded transcriptional control is nuclear entry of cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) catalytic subunits. These are sourced from punctate accumulations of PKA holoenzyme that are densely distributed in the cytoplasm and titrated by global cAMP into a discrete metastable state, in which catalytic subunits are bound but dynamically exchange. Mobile endosomes containing activated receptors collide with the metastable PKA puncta and pause in close contact. We propose that these properties enable cytoplasmic PKA to act collectively like a semiconductor, converting nanoscale cAMP gradients generated from endosomes into microscale elevations of free catalytic subunit to direct downstream signaling.