Detection of DNA point mutations with DNA mismatch repair enzymes

We have developed a simple and reliable procedure to screen gene mutations using DNA mismatch repair (MR) specific mut Y enzyme of Escherichia coli and thymidine DNA glycosylase from HeLa cells. The mut Y enzyme cleaves A of G/A mismatches in DNA duplex and thymidine glycosylase cleaves T at G/T mismatches. Previously, we showed the determination of G:C→T:A mutations in the N-ras gene in two human tumor samples with mut Y G/A MR enzyme. As low as 1-2% mutant DNAs in a sample of mutant and wild-type DNA can be detected with a synthetic DNA to create G/A mispairing for the assay. In this paper, we simplify the assay, include G/T MR thymidine glycosylase from HeLa cells and evaluate the application for screening DNA point mutations of p53 and ras genes