ɪn ɐdˈɪʃən ˌeɪtʃjˈuː ɪnhˈɪbɪts ɹˈɪbənˌuːklɪˌɑːɾaɪd ɹᵻdˈʌkteɪs, ɐn ˈɛnzaɪm jˈuːzd tə bɹˈeɪk dˌaʊn sˈɜːʔn̩ pɹˈoʊtiːnz tə fˈɔːɹm ðə bˈɪldɪŋ blˈɑːks ʌv dˌiːˌɛnˈeɪ kˈɔːld dˈiː ˌɛntˌiːpˈiːz.
In addition HU inhibits ribonucleotide reductase, an enzyme used to break down certain proteins to form the building blocks of DNA called dNTPs.