A repair system for 8-oxo-7,8-dihydrodeoxyguanine

Active oxygen species can damage DNA and may play a role in aging and carcinogenesis. We have tested MutY glycosylase for activity on undamaged mispairs as well as mispairs formed with the oxidatively damaged substrates, 8-oxo-7,8-dihydrodeoxyguanine (GO) or 8-oxo-7,8-dihydrodeoxyadenine (AO). MutY acts as a glycosylase on four of the heteroduplexes tested, A/G, A/GO, A/C, and A/AO, removing the undamaged adenine from each substrate. Genetic data suggest that the primary substrate for MutY glycosylase in vivo is the A/GO mispair. We present biochemical evidence demonstrating that MutY glycosylase is an important part of a repair system that includes the MutM and MutT proteins. The GO repair system is dedicated to the repair of the oxidatively damaged guanine and the mutations it can induce.