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Incubating human cells in diethylmaleate (DEM) depletes the intracellular pool of reduced glutathione (GSH) and increases the concentration of oxidative free radicals. We found that DEM-induced oxidative stress reduced the ability of p53 to bind its consensus recognition sequence and to activate transcription of a p53-specific reporter gene. Nevertheless, DEM treatment induced expression of WAF1/CIP1 but not GADD45 mRNA. The fact that N-acetylcysteine, a precursor of GSH that blocks oxidative stress, prevented WAF1/CIP1 induction by DEM suggests that WAF1/CIP1 induction probably was a consequence of the ability of DEM to reduce intracellular GSH levels. DEM induced WAF1/CIP1 expression in Saos-2 and T98G cells, both of which lack functional p53 protein. DEM treatment did not produce an increase in membrane-associated protein kinase C, but ERK2, a mitogen-activated protein kinase, was …