UV damage and repair in the domain of the human c-myc oncogene

We have used a modification of the Southern hybridization method to analyze the removal of UV-induced pyrimidine cyclobutane dimers from the domain of the c-myc oncogene. The study was performed in human COLO320HSR cells, which exhibit a 30- to 40-fold amplification of c-myc that is maintained in a marker chromosome as a homogeneously staining region. Intron 2 and the region upstream from the gene showed better dimer removal than intron 1 or the region downstream from the c-myc gene. Regions showing less repair coincide with regions that are hotspots for mutations and chromosome translocations. Therefore, it is proposed that the inefficiency of DNA repair may play an important role in the origin of c-myc rearrangements.