NUF1P1

NUF1P1 (PF3D7_1473900) is a Plasmodium falciparum protein implicated in ribosome assembly that has been characterized structurally through its interaction with ZNHIT3 (PMID:35315277). X-ray crystallography of the ZNHIT3–NUF1P1 complex revealed a thermally stable, species-dependent assembly in which key hydrophobic residues form the interaction interface; the ZNHIT3 fragment that engages NUF1P1 can multimerize in vitro and undergoes conformational changes that bury the hydrophobic residues required for NUF1P1 binding, regulating complex formation (PMID:35315277). Beyond this structural characterization of the ZNHIT3–NUF1P1 interface (PMID:35315277), no further in-parasite mechanistic detail — including functional validation, substrate engagement, or subcellular localization of NUF1P1 — has been characterized in the available corpus.

1. 2022 Medium

   To establish how P. falciparum NUF1P1 engages its partner ZNHIT3, this study asked what the physical basis of the interaction is and resolved the atomic structure of the complex.

   Evidence X-ray crystallography of the ZNHIT3–NUF1P1 complex with in vitro multimerization assays and AlphaFold comparison, in P. falciparum

   PMID:35315277

   Open questions at the time

   • No functional validation of NUF1P1 in the parasite; the biological consequence of the interaction is untested
   • The precise role of NUF1P1 in ribosome assembly or rRNA modification is not experimentally demonstrated here
   • Single lab, single study without independent confirmation

• Whether NUF1P1 functions in ribosome assembly, rRNA modification, or related pathways in the living parasite remains unestablished.
• No in-parasite loss-of-function or localization data for NUF1P1
• No identified substrate or downstream effector
• No demonstration that the ZNHIT3 interaction is required for a specific cellular process