Translocation of a UV-damaged DNA binding protein into a tight association with chromatin after treatment of mammalian cells with UV light.

A UV-damaged DNA binding protein (UV-DDB) is the major source of UV-damaged DNA binding activity in mammalian cell extracts. This activity is defective in at least some xeroderma pigmentosum group E (XP-E) patients; microinjection of the UV-DDB protein into their fibroblasts corrects nucleotide excision repair (NER). In an in vitro reconstituted NER system, small amounts of UV-DDB stimulate repair synthesis a few fold.

A 127 kDa component of a UV-damaged DNA-binding complex, which is defective in some xeroderma pigmentosum group E patients, is homologous to a slime mold protein.

A cDNA which encodes a approximately 127 kDa UV-damaged DNA-binding (UV-DDB) protein with high affinity for (6-4)pyrimidine dimers [Abramic', M., Levine, A.S.