An enzyme activity in normal and ataxia telangiectasia cell lines which is involved in the repair of gamma-irradiation-induced DNA damage.

An enzyme that enhances the activity of DNA polymerase I (EC 2.7.7.7) for gamma-irradiated calf thymus DNA was demonstrated in cellular extracts of normal human fibroblasts and lymphoid-cell lines. This enzyme was found to be deficient in all cellular extracts of fibroblasts and lymphoid-cell lines examined from patients with the autosomal recessive disease ataxia telangiectasia. The activity in cellular extracts from normal fibroblasts was removed when heated to 100 degrees C for 2 min or when the assay was performed at 4 degrees C. No significant deficiency in primer-activating enzyme activity was observed in cell-free extracts of lymphoid lines from patients with xeroderma pigmentosum, Huntington's chorea or neurofibromatosis, or from an ataxia telangiectasia heterozygote.