InterPro domain: IPR035433

Nfu functions as a scaffold protein for assembly and delivery of rudimentary Fe-S clusters to target proteins [ 1 , 2 ]. A human Nfu homologue, HIRA-interacting protein 5 (HIRIP5), was first identified in a two-hybrid screen for proteins that interact with the transcription regulator HIRA [ 3 ]. It seems that two human Nfu isoforms are generated by alternative explicing, which are subsequently targeted to different subcellular compartments [ 4 ].

This entry includes NFU1-like proteins from eukaryotes and some uncharacterised proteins from prokaryotes.

1. Modular organization and identification of a mononuclear iron-binding site within the NifU protein. J. Biol. Inorg. Chem. 5, 167-77
2. Evidence for a conserved system for iron metabolism in the mitochondria of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 96, 10206-11
3. Identification of human and mouse HIRA-interacting protein-5 (HIRIP5), two mammalian representatives in a family of phylogenetically conserved proteins with a role in the biogenesis of Fe/S proteins. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1517, 376-83
4. Subcellular compartmentalization of human Nfu, an iron-sulfur cluster scaffold protein, and its ability to assemble a [4Fe-4S] cluster. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 100, 9762-7