Human glutaredoxin 3 can bind and effectively transfer [4Fe-4S] cluster to apo-iron regulatory protein 1.

Glutaredoxin 3 (GLRX3) is a member of monothiol glutaredoxins with a CGFS active site that has been demonstrated to function in cellular iron sensing and trafficking via its bound iron-sulfur cluster. Human GLRX3 has been shown to form a dimer that binds two bridging [2Fe-2S] clusters with glutathione (GSH) as a ligand, assembling a compound 2GLRX3-2[2Fe-2S]-4GSH. Each iron of the iron-sulfur clusters is bound to the thiols of the cysteines, one of which is from the active site of GLRX3, the other from the noncovalently bound GSH. Here, we show that the recombinant human GLRX3 isolated anaerobically from Escherichia coli can incorporate [4Fe-4S] cluster in the absence of GSH, revealed by spectral and enzymatic analysis. [4Fe-4S] cluster-containing GLRX3 is competent for converting iron regulatory protein 1 (apo-IRP1) into aconitase within 30 min, via intact iron-sulfur cluster transfer. These in vitro studies suggest that human GLRX3 is important for cytosolic Fe-S protein maturation.

19th Sir Hans Krebs lecture. Engineering of protein bound iron-sulfur clusters. A tool for the study of protein and cluster chemistry and mechanism of iron-sulfur enzymes.

An increasing number of iron-sulfur (Fe-S) proteins are found in which the Fe-S cluster is not involved in net electron transfer, as it is in the majority of Fe-S proteins. Most of the former are (de)hydratases, of which the most extensively studied is aconitase. Approaches are described and discussed by which the Fe-S cluster of this enzyme could be brought into states of different structure, ligation, oxidation and isotope composition. The species, so obtained, provided the basis for spectroscopic and chemical investigations. Results from studies by protein chemistry, EPR, Mössbauer, 1H, 2H and 57Fe electron-nuclear double resonance spectroscopy are described. Conclusions, which bear on the electronic structure of the Fe-S cluster, enzyme-substrate interaction and the enzymatic mechanism, were derived from a synopsis of the recent work described here and of previous contributions from several laboratories. These conclusions are discussed and summarized in a final section.