The Comprehensive Analysis of N6-Methyadenosine Writer METTL3 and METTL14 in Gastric Cancer

Methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3) and methyltransferase-like 14 (METTL14) were two core components of the N6-methyadenosine (m6A) methyltransferase complex (MTC) and played a basic role in maintaining an appropriate m6A level of target genes. In gastric cancer (GC), previous researches on the expression and role of METTL3 and METTL14 were not consistent, and their specific function and mechanism have remained elusive. In this study, the expression of METTL3 and METTL14 was evaluated based on the TCGA database, 9 paired GEO datasets, and our 33 GC patient samples, and METTL3 was highly expressed and acted as a poor prognostic factor, whereas METTL14 showed no significant difference. Moreover, GO and GSEA analyses were performed, and the results pointed out that METTL3 and METTL14 were jointly involved in multiple biological processes, while they could also take part in different oncogenic pathways independently. And BCLAF1 was predicted and identified as a novel shared target of METTL3 and METTL14 in GC. In total, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of METTL3 and METTL14 in GC including their expression, function, and role, which could provide a novel insight into the research of m6A modification in GC.