ERCC1 polypeptide is essential for nucleotide excision repair （NER） of damaged DNA and is homologous to Saccharomyces cerevisiae RAD10， which takes part in repair and mitotic intra-chromosomal recombination. NER mechanism includes dual incisions on both sides of the damage catalyzed by two nucleases. In mammalian cells XPG cleaves 3’ of the DNA lesion while the ERCC1-XPF complex makes the 5’ incision. Raised levels of ERCC1 were also found in cisplatin-resistant cells.
