Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry for Analysis of RNA Adenosine Methylation

Dynamic RNA modifications recently were considered to constitute another realm for biological regulation in the form of "RNA epigenetics". N ⁶-methyladenosine (m⁶A), one of the most important modifications on RNA, plays a fundamental role in epigenetic regulation of the mammalian transcriptome. We recently established various liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS)-based methods for the sensitive and accurate determination of modified nucleosides in both DNA and RNA. Here, we describe a protocol to analyze m⁶A in RNA by LC-ESI-MS/MS. And this protocol also can be extended to the analysis of other modified nucleosides in both DNA and RNA.