Cell-type-specific level of DNA nucleotide excision repair in primary human mammary and ovarian epithelial cell cultures.

DNA repair, a fundamental function of cellular metabolism, has long been presumed to be constitutive and equivalent in all cells. However, we have previously shown that normal levels of nucleotide excision repair (NER) can vary by 20-fold in a tissue-specific pattern. We have now successfully established primary cultures of normal ovarian tissue from seven women by using a novel culture system originally developed for breast epithelial cells.