METTL3-Mediated m⁶A Modification of FMRP Drives Hepatocellular Carcinoma Progression and Indicates Poor Prognosis

Accumulating studies reveal that m⁶A RNA methylation plays a critical role in cancer pathogenesis and progression. METTL3 as a m⁶A methyltransferase acts as an oncogene in multiple malignancies including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the role and underlying mechanism by which METTL3 contributes to HCC remains unclear. The association of METTL3 expression with clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis in patients with HCC was assessed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, Western blot, and public TCGA dataset. MTT, colony formation, Transwell assays, and xenograft tumor models were executed to reveal the role of METTL3 in HCC. m⁶A dot blot, RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP), m⁶A methylated RIP, and Western blot assays were used to uncover the regulatory mechanism of METTL3 in HCC cells. We found that METTL3 was dramatically upregulated in HCC tissue samples and acted as an independent prognostic factor for poor survival and tumor recurrence in patients with HCC. Silencing of METTL3 repressed cell growth and invasion in vitro and in vivo, but restored expression of METTL3 boosted these effects. Mechanistical investigations revealed that METTL3 could directly interact with FMRP and harbor a positive correlation with FMRP expression. Knockdown of METTL3 reduced FMRP m⁶A levels as well as its mRNA and protein expression. FMRP overexpression drove cell colony formation and cell invasion and abolished METTL3 knockdown-induced antitumor effects and AKT/mTORC1 signaling inactivation. Elevated expression of FMRP could act as an independent prognostic factor for poor survival and tumor recurrence in patients with HCC. Our findings demonstrate that METTL3-mediated m⁶A modification of FMRP promotes growth and invasion of HCC cells and may provide a promising therapeutic target for HCC.