Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 22, 2025

In Vitro Cultivation Techniques for Modeling Liver Organogenesis, Building Assembloids, and Designing Synthetic Tissues using Human Cell Lines
Published on: April 18, 2025
METTL16 promotes hepatocellular carcinoma progression through downregulating RAB11B-AS1 in an m6A-dependent manner
Yun-Zhang Dai1, Yong-da Liu1, Jie Li1
1Department of Medical Genetics, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, 200433, China.
Background:
The molecular mechanisms driving hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain largely unclear. As one of the major epitranscriptomic modifications, N6-methyladenosine (m6A) plays key roles in HCC. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression, roles, and mechanisms of action of the RNA methyltransferase methyltransferase-like protein 16 (METTL16) in HCC.
Methods:
The expression of METTL16 and RAB11B-AS1 was determined by RT-qPCR. The regulation of RAB11B-AS1 by METTL16 was investigated by RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP), methylated RIP (MeRIP), and RNA stability assays. In vitro and in vivo gain- and loss-of-function assays were performed to investigate the roles of METTL16 and RAB11B-AS1.
Results:
METTL16 was upregulated in HCC, and its increased expression was correlated with poor prognosis of HCC patients. METTL16 promoted HCC cellular proliferation, migration, and invasion, repressed HCC cellular apoptosis, and promoted HCC tumoral growth in vivo. METTL16 directly bound long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) RAB11B-AS1, induced m6A modification of RAB11B-AS1, and decreased the stability of RAB11B-AS1 transcript, leading to the downregulation of RAB11B-AS1. Conversely to METTL16, RAB11B-AS1 is downregulated in HCC, and its decreased expression was correlated with poor prognosis of patients with HCC. Furthermore, the expression of RAB11B-AS1 was negatively correlated with METTL16 in HCC tissues. RAB11B-AS1 repressed HCC cellular proliferation, migration, and invasion, promoted HCC cellular apoptosis, and inhibited HCC tumoral growth in vivo. Functional rescue assays revealed that overexpression of RAB11B-AS1 reversed the oncogenic roles of METTL16 in HCC.
Conclusions:
This study identified the METTL16/RAB11B-AS1 regulatory axis in HCC, which represented novel targets for HCC prognosis and treatment.
Related Concept Videos
mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression
The mTOR pathway or the...
MAPK Signaling Cascades
Abnormal Proliferation
PI3K/mTOR/AKT Signaling Pathway
The Ras Gene
Ras is a...
Receptor Downregulation in MVBs
The EGFR can initiate signaling pathways that lead to cell proliferation, migration, and differentiation. Overexpression of EGFR stimulates cells to proliferate. Excessive EGFR...

