N6-methyladenosine modification in the context of viral infection: from molecular mechanism to therapeutic potential

N⁶-methyladenosine (m⁶A) is the most abundant and dynamically regulated RNA modification in eukaryotic cells, which modulates key RNA metabolic processes including splicing, stability, nuclear export, degradation and translation. During viral infection, m⁶A exerts a pivotal regulatory role by modifying both viral RNAs and host cellular transcripts. Accumulating evidence demonstrates that viruses hijack the host m⁶A machinery through diverse mechanisms to reprogram the host epitranscriptome, in favor of viral replication. Targeting the host m⁶A machinery has emerged as a promising novel antiviral therapeutic strategy. This review focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying viral hijacking of host m⁶A modifications and explores the therapeutic potential of targeting the viral hijacking mechanisms of the host m⁶A machinery.