Depletes iron from the phagolysosome in an ATP-dependent process. May rather act as a symporter of protons and metal cations in an ATP-dependent process. Nramp1 overexpression protected cells from L.pneumophila infection. Located at vesicles of variable size, which are distributed all over the cytoplasm, in part clustered at a perinuclear site. Several tiny vesicles travel rapidly outward from and towards the perinuclear cluster. These vesicles are part of the endo- and phagolysosomal pathway. Expressed during the growth-phase and down-regulated to barely detectable levels upon starvation. More permissive hosts than wild-type cells for intracellular growth of L.pneumophila and M.avium. Belongs to the NRAMP family.