Streptozotocin, an O-GlcNAcase Inhibitor, Stimulates $TNF\alpha -Induced$ Cell Death

O-GlcNAcylation of p53 has been already identified and reported, but the function of O-GlcNAc on p53 has not been studied well. In this report, the general function of O-GlcNAc modification on p53 has been investigated using mouse fibroblast cell, L929. When streptozotocin (STZ), a non-competitive O-GlcNAcase inhibitor was treated to L929, O-GlcNAc modification level was dramatically increased on nucleocytoplasmic proteins, including p53. Because it has been already reported that $TNF\alpha$ induced the production of p53 in L929, $TNF\alpha$ was treated to obtain more p53. Approximately two times more amount of p53 was found from the cells treated STZ and $TNF\alpha$ simultaneously compared to the cell treated $TNF\alpha$ alone. The p53 increment in the presence of STZ was not caused by the induction of p53 gene expression. When new production of p53 induced by the $TNF\alpha$ was inhibited by the treatment of cycloheximide, O-GlcNAc modification decreased and phosphorylation increased on pre-existing p53 after $TNF\alpha$ treatment. But in the presence of STZ and $TNF\alpha$ at the same time, more O-GlcNAcylation occurred on p53, The level of ubiquitination on p53 was also reduced in the presence of STZ. Approximately three times less amount of Mdm2 bound to this hyperglycosylated p53. From this result it might be concluded that treatment of STZ to inhibit O-GlcNAcase increased O-GlcNAc modification level on p53 and the increment of O-GlcNAc modification stabilized p53 from ubiquitin proteolysis system.