SUFU, encoding the human orthologue of Drosophila suppressor of fused, appears to have a conserved role in the repression of Hedgehog signaling. SUFU exerts its repressor role by physically interacting with GLI proteins in both the cytoplasm and the nucleus [1]. SUFU has been found to be a tumour-suppressor gene that predisposes individuals to medulloblastoma by modulating the SHH signaling pathway [2]. Genomic contextual analysis of bacterial SUFU versions revealed that they are immunity proteins against diverse nuclease toxins in polymorphic toxin systems [3].

1: Medulloblastoma: A problem of developmental biology. Rubin JB, Rowitch DH; Cancer Cell 2002;2:7-8. PMID:12150819

2: Mutations in SUFU predispose to medulloblastoma. Taylor MD, Liu L, Raffel C, Hui CC, Mainprize TG, Zhang X, Agatep R, Chiappa S, Gao L, Lowrance A, Hao A, Goldstein AM, Stavrou T, Scherer SW, Dura WT, Wainwright B, Squire JA, Rutka JT, Hogg D; Nat Genet 2002;31:306-310. PMID:12068298

3: A novel immunity system for bacterial nucleic acid degrading toxins and its recruitment in various eukaryotic and DNA viral systems. Zhang D, Iyer LM, Aravind L; Nucleic Acids Res. 2011;39:4532-4552. PMID:21306995