MUTYH Background Information MUTYH (mutY homolog (E. coli)) is a DNA glycosylase mismatch repair enzyme that in conjunction with mutM (OGG1), cleaves adenine residues paired with either oxidized (8-hydroxyguanines) or non-modified guanines in order to correct A/G and A/C mismatches. Repair of most modified and mispaired bases in the genome is initiated by DNA glycosylases, which bind and cleave N-glycosyl bonds to initiate base excision repair. MUTYH is crucial for the avoidance of mutations resulting from oxidative DNA damage. Multiple N-terminal splice variants of MUTYH exist in mammalian cells. Increasing levels of MUTYH in A549 cells exposed to oxygen and infrared radiation leads to improvements in cell survival. Biallelic MUTYH germ-line mutations predispose humans to colorectal adenomas and carcinomas. MUTYH is abundant in neurons where mitochondrial genomes exposed to reactive oxygen species (ROS) that damage DNA must maintain integrity over the entire mammalian life span.
