We tested the ability of recombinant hMutS␣ (hMSH2͞hMSH6) and hMutS (hMSH2͞hMSH3) heterodimers to complement the mismatch repair defect of HEC59, a human cancer cell line whose extracts lack all three MutS homologues. Although repair of both base͞base mispairs and insertion-deletion loops was restored by hMutS␣, only the latter substrates were addressed in extracts supplemented with hMutS. hMutS␣ was also able to complement a defect in the repair of base͞base mispairs in CHO R and HL60R cell extracts. In these cells, methotrexate-induced amplification of the dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) locus, which also contains the MSH3 gene, led to an overexpression of MSH3 and thus to a dramatic change in the relative levels of MutS␣ and MutS. As a rule, MSH2 is primarily complexed with MSH6. MutS␣ is thus relatively abundant in mammalian cell extracts, whereas MutS levels are generally low. In contrast, in cells that overexpress MSH3, the available MSH2 protein is sequestered predominantly into MutS. This leads to degradation of the partnerless MSH6 and depletion of MutS␣. CHO R and HL60R cells therefore lack correction of base͞base mispairs, whereas loop repair is maintained by MutS. Consequently, frameshift mutations in CHO R are rare, whereas transitions and transversions are acquired at a rate two orders of magnitude above background. Our data thus support and extend the findings of Drummond et al.