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Updated: Apr 27, 2026

Characterizing RNA Modifications in Single Neurons Using Mass Spectrometry
Published on: April 21, 2022
Dynamic RNA modifications in disease
Arne Klungland1, John Arne Dahl2
1Clinic for Diagnostics and Intervention and Institute of Medical Microbiology, Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, Sognsvannsveien 20, 0027 Oslo, Norway; Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Oslo, 0315 Oslo, Norway.
Abstract:
While the presence of 6-methyladenosine (m6A) modifications in mRNA was noted several decades ago, the first enzyme reversing this modification was identified very recently. Today we know of two methyltransferases introducing m6A in mRNA--METTL3 and METTL14--and two demethylases that remove it have been identified-FTO (ALKBH9) and ALKBH5. The conserved role of m6A seems to relate to meiosis, and mice lacking ALKBH5 are infertile. While loss-of-function mutation in FTO causes a recessive lethal syndrome, sequence variants in introns of the FTO gene are associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes.
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