Increased O-GlcNAcylation of c-Myc Promotes Pre-B Cell Proliferation.

O-linked β-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) modification regulates the activity of hundreds of nucleocytoplasmic proteins involved in a wide variety of cellular processes, such as gene expression, signaling, and cell growth; however, the mechanism underlying the regulation of B cell development and function by O-GlcNAcylation remains largely unknown. Here, we demonstrate that changes in cellular O-GlcNAc levels significantly affected the growth of pre-B cells, which rapidly proliferate to allow expansion of functional clones that express successfully rearranged heavy chains at the pro-B stage during early B cell development. In our study, the overall O-GlcNAc levels in these proliferative pre-B cells, which are linked to the glucose uptake rate, were highly induced when compared with those in pro-B cells.