Nei Endonuclease VIII Like Protein 3 (NEIL3)

NEIL3 belongs to a class of DNA glycosylases homologous to the bacterial Fpg/Nei family. These glycosylases initiate the first step in base excision repair by cleaving bases damaged by reactive oxygen species and introducing a DNA strand break via the associated lyase reaction.

The deduced 605-amino acid protein has a calculated molecular mass of 67.9 kD. Unlike NEIL1, NEIL3 contains a RAN-binding protein-like zinc finger motif and C-terminal zinc ribbon domains. Northern blot analysis of several human tissues detected a 2.4-kb transcript only in testis and thymus. Fluorescence-tagged NEIL3 colocalized with RPA2 in the nuclei of transfected HeLa cells and was excluded from nucleoli.