The V(D)J recombination defect in the xrs-6 cell line results from a point mutation in the Ku80 gene

Defective expression of the Ku80 gene has been implicated as underlying the V(D)J recombination and DNA double-strand break repair defects in the xrs-6 Chinese hamster ovary cell line. We now show that the mutation in the Ku80 gene involves a G to A transition 15 bp upstream of exon 2. This mutation creates a new splice acceptor site which results in the generation of a Ku80 transcript that cannot encode a functional product due a 13 nucleotide insertion and a resulting frameshift.