NEIL2 Gene

Name	nei endonuclease VIII-like 2 (E. coli)
Description	This gene encodes a member of the Fpg/Nei family of DNA glycosylases. These glycosylases initiate the first step in base excision repair by cleaving oxidatively damaged bases and introducing a DNA strand break via their abasic site lyase activity. This enzyme is primarily associated with DNA repair during transcription and acts prefentially on cytosine-derived lesions, particularly 5-hydroxyuracil and 5-hydroxycytosine. It contains an N-terminal catalytic domain, a hinge region, and a C-terminal DNA-binding domain with helix-two-turn-helix and zinc finger motifs. This enzyme interacts with the X-ray cross complementing factor 1 scaffold protein as part of a multi-protein DNA repair complex. A pseudogene of this gene has been identified. [provided by RefSeq, Mar 2017]
Summary	{"type": "root", "children": [{"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\nNEIL2 is an oxidized base‐specific DNA glycosylase that initiates repair via the base excision repair pathway. Biochemical characterization shows that the 37‐kDa enzyme exhibits DNA glycosylase/AP lyase activity, primarily recognizing and excising oxidative products of cytosine (notably 5‑hydroxyuracil), and it is predominantly localized in the nucleus with cell cycle–independent expression."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "1"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": ""}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n\n"}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\nDistinct from other glycosylases such as OGG1 and NTH1, NEIL2 exhibits a unique substrate specificity; it preferentially excises lesions from non‐canonical DNA structures—specifically, bubble regions that are typically generated during transcription and replication—whereas typical glycosylases act mainly on duplex DNA."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "2"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": ""}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n\n"}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\nMoreover, NEIL2’s enzymatic activity is modulated by protein–protein interactions. It forms stable complexes with other base excision repair proteins and, notably, its activity is significantly enhanced through interaction with the Y box–binding protein (YB‑1), which stimulates NEIL2’s base excision function under oxidative stress conditions."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "4"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": ""}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n\n"}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\nIn addition to its defined role in repairing oxidative DNA lesions, large-scale genomic analyses have implicated NEIL2 in cancer, as its mutation and copy number variation patterns suggest it may influence tumor suppressive or oncogenic pathways."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "5"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": ""}]}, {"type": "rg", "children": [{"type": "r", "ref": 1, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Tapas K Hazra, Yoke W Kow, Zafar Hatahet, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Identification and characterization of a novel human DNA glycosylase for repair of cytosine-derived lesions."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Biol Chem (2002)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1074/jbc.C200355200"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.C200355200"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "12097317"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12097317"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 2, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Hong Dou, Sankar Mitra, Tapas K Hazra "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Repair of oxidized bases in DNA bubble structures by human DNA glycosylases NEIL1 and NEIL2."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Biol Chem (2003)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1074/jbc.M308658200"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M308658200"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "14522990"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14522990"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 3, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Atsushi Katafuchi, Toshiaki Nakano, Aya Masaoka, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Differential specificity of human and Escherichia coli endonuclease III and VIII homologues for oxidative base lesions."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Biol Chem (2004)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1074/jbc.M400393200"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M400393200"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "14734554"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14734554"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 4, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Soumita Das, Ranajoy Chattopadhyay, Kishor K Bhakat, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Stimulation of NEIL2-mediated oxidized base excision repair via YB-1 interaction during oxidative stress."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Biol Chem (2007)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1074/jbc.M704672200"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M704672200"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "17686777"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17686777"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 5, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Young Kwang Chae, Jonathan F Anker, Benedito A Carneiro, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Genomic landscape of DNA repair genes in cancer."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Oncotarget (2016)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.18632/oncotarget.8196"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.8196"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "27004405"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27004405"}]}]}]}
Synonyms	NEH2, NEI2
Proteins	NEIL2_HUMAN
NCBI Gene ID	252969
API
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Predicted Functions
Co-expressed Genes
Expression in Tissues and Cell Lines

Functional Associations

NEIL2 has 4,995 functional associations with biological entities spanning 9 categories (molecular profile, organism, functional term, phrase or reference, chemical, disease, phenotype or trait, structural feature, cell line, cell type or tissue, gene, protein or microRNA, sequence feature) extracted from 109 datasets.

Click the + buttons to view associations for NEIL2 from the datasets below.

If available, associations are ranked by standardized value

Harmonizome 3.0

NEIL2 Gene

Functional Associations

Please acknowledge the Harmonizome in your publications by citing the following reference(s):

	Dataset	Summary
	Achilles Cell Line Gene Essentiality Profiles	cell lines with fitness changed by NEIL2 gene knockdown relative to other cell lines from the Achilles Cell Line Gene Essentiality Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of NEIL2 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of NEIL2 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Aging Dementia and Traumatic Brain Injury Tissue Sample Gene Expression Profiles	tissue samples with high or low expression of NEIL2 gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Aging Dementia and Traumatic Brain Injury Tissue Sample Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray	tissue samples with high or low expression of NEIL2 gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by RNA-seq	tissue samples with high or low expression of NEIL2 gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by RNA-seq dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of NEIL2 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	cell types and tissues with high or low expression of NEIL2 gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	cell types and tissues with high or low expression of NEIL2 gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of NEIL2 gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of NEIL2 gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Proteomics	Cell lines associated with NEIL2 protein from the CCLE Cell Line Proteomics dataset.
	CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations	cell types associated with NEIL2 gene from the CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles	transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of NEIL2 gene from the CHEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of NEIL2 gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022	transcription factors binding the promoter of NEIL2 gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022 dataset.
	CM4AI U2OS Cell Map Protein Localization Assemblies	assemblies containing NEIL2 protein from integrated AP-MS and IF data from the CM4AI U2OS Cell Map Protein Localization Assemblies dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components containing NEIL2 protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components containing NEIL2 protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components co-occuring with NEIL2 protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components co-occuring with NEIL2 protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	CORUM Protein Complexes	protein complexs containing NEIL2 protein from the CORUM Protein Complexes dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of NEIL2 gene relative to other cell lines from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles	cell lines with NEIL2 gene mutations from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles dataset.
	CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions	chemicals interacting with NEIL2 gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions dataset.
	CTD Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with NEIL2 gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	dbGAP Gene-Trait Associations	traits associated with NEIL2 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the dbGAP Gene-Trait Associations dataset.
	DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency	cell lines with fitness changed by NEIL2 gene knockdown relative to other cell lines from the DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency dataset.
	DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases associated with NEIL2 gene in GWAS datasets from the DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores	diseases co-occuring with NEIL2 gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases co-occuring with NEIL2 gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with NEIL2 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Phenotype Associations	phenotypes associated with NEIL2 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Phenoptype Associations dataset.
	ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles	histone modification site profiles with high histone modification abundance at NEIL2 gene from the ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles	transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of NEIL2 gene from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of NEIL2 gene in ChIP-seq datasets from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
	ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells	PubMedIDs of publications reporting gene signatures containing NEIL2 from the ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells dataset.
	GAD Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with NEIL2 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the GAD Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	GAD High Level Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with NEIL2 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the GAD High Level Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	GeneRIF Biological Term Annotations	biological terms co-occuring with NEIL2 gene in literature-supported statements describing functions of genes from the GeneRIF Biological Term Annotations dataset.