Tuesday, December 10, 2024

Two-stage binding of mitochondrial ferredoxin-2 to the core iron-sulfur cluster assembly complex

Steinhilper R, Boß L, Freibert SA, Schulz V, Krapoth N, Kaltwasser S, Lill R, Murphy BJ. Two-stage binding of mitochondrial ferredoxin-2 to the core iron-sulfur cluster assembly complex. Nat Commun. 2024 Dec 4;15(1):10559. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-54585-4. PMID: 39632806; PMCID: PMC11618653.  
The structural interaction of FDX2 with the complex remains unclear. Here, we present cryo-EM structures of the human FDX2-bound core ISC complex showing that FDX2 and FXN compete for overlapping binding sites. FDX2 binds in either a 'distal' conformation, where its helix F interacts electrostatically with an arginine patch of NFS1, or a 'proximal' conformation, where this interaction tightens and the FDX2-specific C terminus binds to NFS1, facilitating the movement of the [2Fe-2S] cluster of FDX2 closer to the ISCU2 FeS cluster assembly site for rapid electron transfer. Structure-based mutational studies verify the contact areas of FDX2 within the core ISC complex.