Induction of beta-polymerase mRNA by DNA-damaging agents in Chinese hamster ovary cells.

Only a few of the genes involved in DNA repair in mammalian cells have been isolated, and induction of a DNA repair gene in response to DNA damage has not yet been established. DNA polymerase beta (beta-polymerase) appears to have a synthetic role in DNA repair after certain types of DNA damage. Here we show that the level of beta-polymerase mRNA is increased in CHO cells after treatment with several DNA-damaging agents.