Cells contain hundreds of proteins that require iron cofactors for activity. Iron cofactors are synthesized in the cell, but the pathways involved in distributing heme, iron-sulfur clusters, and ferrous/ferric ions to apoproteins remain incompletely defined. In particular, cytosolic monothiol glutaredoxins and BolA-like proteins have been identified as [2Fe-2S]-coordinating complexes in vitro and iron-regulatory proteins in fungi, but it is not clear how these proteins function in mammalian systems or how this complex might affect Fe-S proteins or the cytosolic Fe-S assembly machinery. To explore these questions, we use quantitative immunoprecipitation and live cell proximitydependent biotinylation to monitor interactions between Glrx3, BolA2, and components of the cytosolic iron-sulfur cluster assembly system. We characterize cytosolic Glrx3⅐BolA2 as a Although hundreds of cellular proteins require iron-containing cofactors for activity (1), the machinery responsible for distributing these cofactors remains relatively obscure. Separate systems must exist for both the mitochondrial and the cytosolic/nuclear compartments and systems must selectively distribute ferrous iron ions, iron-sulfur (Fe-S) centers, and heme.Recent studies indicate that the poly(rC)-binding proteins are involved in the distribution of ferrous iron to ferritin, the principal iron storage protein, and to mono-and dinuclear iron enzymes in the cytosol of mammalian cells (2-4). Studies in both bakers' yeast and vertebrates indicate that many proteins are involved in the assembly and distribution of Fe-S clusters in the cytosol (5-7). These proteins are structurally and functionally conserved across many species. One protein class, the monothiol glutaredoxins, has been functionally implicated in the trafficking of both ionic iron and Fe-S clusters (8 -12).Monothiol glutaredoxins are members of the thioredoxin (Trx) 3 -fold family of proteins. Most members of the Trx family utilize a dithiol active site to catalyze the oxido-reduction of thiol-disulfide residues. In contrast, monothiol glutaredoxins contain a Cys-Gly-Phe-Ser active site that lacks catalytic activity and instead coordinates a [2Fe-2S] cluster via the active site cysteine and the sulfhydryl residue of a molecule of glutathione, which is non-covalently bound adjacent to the glutaredoxin active site (10,(13)(14)(15). In vitro analysis of this Fe-S-containing species indicates that two glutathione-bound glutaredoxin proteins can coordinate a single [2Fe-2S] cluster as a bridging complex. In eukaryotes, distinct monothiol glutaredoxins are expressed in the mitochondria and cytosol. Genetic evidence suggests that mitochondrial glutaredoxins are involved in the transfer of newly assembled Fe-S clusters to recipient apoproteins (8,9,16,17). Cytosolic monothiol glutaredoxins differ from their mitochondrial paralogs in that they contain an amino-terminal Trx-like domain followed by one or more glutaredoxin domains. Studies in fungi suggest these proteins are involved in iron homeostasis.Th...