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The roles of m6A RNA modifiers in human cancer

Yanwen Liang1, Guankai Zhan2, Kao-Jung Chang3,4

  • 1Department of Life Sciences and Institute of Genomic Sciences, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.

Journal of the Chinese Medical Association : JCMA
|January 7, 2020
PubMed

Insights

N-methyladenosine (mA), a key RNA modification, regulates gene expression and RNA processing. This review explores how mA RNA modifiers impact human cancers, revealing new therapeutic targets.

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Epigenetics
  • Cancer Research

Background:

  • RNA modifications, including N-methyladenosine (mA), are crucial for regulating gene expression and RNA metabolism.
  • mA is the most abundant mRNA methylation, impacting ~25% of transcripts and influencing processes like splicing, translation, and stability.
  • This regulatory layer is termed "RNA Epigenetics" or "Epitranscriptomics".

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review and discuss the current understanding of mA RNA modifiers in human cancers.
  • To highlight the roles of mA methyltransferases (writers), mA demethylases (erasers), and mA binding proteins (readers) in cancer development and progression.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of recent studies on mA RNA modifiers and their functions.
  • Analysis of the involvement of mA modifiers in various aspects of RNA processing relevant to cancer.

Main Results:

  • mA modifications are implicated in diverse cellular processes, including splicing, nuclear export, translation, and RNA stability.
  • Dysregulation of mA RNA modifiers is increasingly recognized as a significant factor in human cancers.
  • mA modifiers act as "writers," "erasers," and "readers" to control mA levels and functions.

Conclusions:

  • mA RNA modifiers represent a critical regulatory network in gene expression with profound implications for cancer.
  • Understanding these "epitranscriptomic" mechanisms offers potential for novel cancer diagnostics and therapeutics.

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