Mammalian mitochondrial endonuclease activities specific for ultraviolet-irradiated DNA

Mitochondrial forms of uracll DNA glycosylase and UV endonuclease have been purified and characterized from the mouse plasmacytoma cell line, MPC-11. As in other cell types, the mitochondrial uracll DNA glycosylase has properties very similar to those of the nuclear enzyme, although in this case the mitochondrial activity was also distinguishable by extreme sensitivity to dilution. Three mitochondrial UV endonuclease activities are also similar to nuclear enzymes; however, the relative amounts of these enzyme activities in the mitochondria is significantly different from that in the nucieus. in particular, mitochondria contain a much higher proportion of an activity analogous to UV endonuclease III. Nuclear UV endonuclease III activity is absent from XP group D fibrobiasts and XP group D lymphoblasts have reduced, but detectable levels of the mitochondrial form of this enzyme. This residual activity diflers in its properties from the normal mitochondrial form of UV endonuclease III, however. The presence of these enzyme activities which function in base excision repair suggests that such DNA repair occurs in mttochondrla. Alternatively, these enzymes might act to mark damaged mitochondrial genomes for subsequent degradation.