PU.1 redirects adenovirus to lysosomes in alveolar macrophages, uncoupling internalization from infection.

Adenovirus is endocytosed and efficiently destroyed by human and murine alveolar macrophages (AMs) and rapidly cleared from the lungs of wild-type but not GM-CSF(-/-) mice. We hypothesized that GM-CSF may regulate adenovirus clearance in AMs via the transcription factor PU.1 by redirecting virion trafficking from the nucleus to lysosomes.