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Updated: Dec 13, 2025
Continuous Fluorescence-Based Endonuclease-Coupled DNA Methylation Assay to Screen for DNA Methyltransferase Inhibitors
Published on: August 5, 2022
The RNA Methyltransferase NSUN2 and Its Potential Roles in Cancer
Anitha Chellamuthu1, Steven G Gray1,2
1Department of Clinical Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin D08 W9RT, Ireland.
Abstract:
5-methylcytosine is often associated as an epigenetic modifier in DNA. However, it is also found increasingly in a plethora of RNA species, predominantly transfer RNAs, but increasingly found in cytoplasmic and mitochondrial ribosomal RNAs, enhancer RNAs, and a number of long noncoding RNAs. Moreover, this modification can also be found in messenger RNAs and has led to an increasing appreciation that RNA methylation can functionally regulate gene expression and cellular activities. In mammalian cells, the addition of m5C to RNA cytosines is carried out by enzymes of the NOL1/NOP2/SUN domain (NSUN) family as well as the DNA methyltransferase homologue DNMT2. In this regard, NSUN2 is a critical RNA methyltransferase for adding m5C to mRNA. In this review, using non-small cell lung cancer and other cancers as primary examples, we discuss the recent developments in the known functions of this RNA methyltransferase and its potential critical role in cancer.
Insights
RNA methylation, specifically 5-methylcytosine (m5C), is increasingly recognized for its role in gene regulation. This review highlights the function of RNA methyltransferases, like NSUN2, and their critical involvement in cancer development.
Area of Science:
- Epigenetics
- Molecular Biology
- Cancer Research
Background:
- 5-methylcytosine (m5C) is a prevalent RNA modification found in various RNA species, including tRNA, rRNA, lncRNA, and mRNA.
- RNA methylation, particularly m5C, plays a functional role in regulating gene expression and cellular activities.
- Enzymes from the NOL1/NOP2/SUN domain (NSUN) family and DNMT2 are responsible for RNA m5C modification in mammalian cells.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent advancements in understanding the functions of RNA methyltransferases, focusing on their role in cancer.
- To discuss the critical involvement of NSUN2 as a key mRNA methyltransferase in cancer biology, using non-small cell lung cancer as a primary example.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of recent developments in RNA methylation research.
- Focus on the role of NSUN2 in mRNA modification and its implications in cancer.
Main Results:
- NSUN2 is identified as a critical RNA methyltransferase responsible for m5C modification in mRNA.
- Emerging evidence suggests a significant role for RNA methylation in regulating gene expression and cellular functions relevant to cancer.
Conclusions:
- RNA methylation, mediated by enzymes like NSUN2, is a crucial epigenetic mechanism with a significant role in cancer progression.
- Further research into RNA methyltransferases and their substrates holds potential for novel cancer diagnostics and therapeutics.
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