Enzymatic Activity Assays for Base Excision Repair Enzymes in Cell Extracts from Vertebrate Cells

We previously reported enzymatic activity assays for the base excision repair (BER) enzymes DNA polymerase β (pol β), aprataxin (APTX), and flap endonuclease 1 (FEN1) in cell extracts from Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Çağlayan and Wilson, 2014). Here, we describe a method to prepare cell extracts from vertebrate cells to investigate these enzymatic activities for the processing of the 5'-adenylated-sugar phosphate-containing BER intermediate. This new protocol complements our previous publication. The cell lines used are wild-type and APTX-deficient human lymphoblast cells from an Ataxia with Oculomotor Apraxia Type 1 (AOA1) disease patient, wild-type and APTX-null DT40 chicken B cells, and mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) cells. This protocol is a quick and efficient way to make vertebrate cell extracts without using commercial kits.