Wu Xia, Sang Lina, Gong Yuping
Department of Hematology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China.
Am J Cancer Res. 2018 Oct 1;8(10):1957-1966. eCollection 2018.
Similar to DNA methylation modifications, N6-methyladenine (mA) has been identified as a dynamic and reversible modification in messenger RNA (mRNA), regulated by mA methyltransferases and demethylases. mA modifications regulate gene expressions and play vital roles in many life processes. Some proteins serve as mA-binding proteins to perform the mA-modified biological functions. Recently, mA modifications have been reported to play critical roles in human cancers, including lung cancer, brain tumor, leukemia, and many others. In this comprehensive review, we have described the roles played by mA modifications of mRNA in the development of cancers. These modifications appear to have an oncogenic role in some cancers while a tumor-suppressor role in others. Therefore, it would be of great significance to study the biological functions of genes regulated by mA in different cancers and identify the key mA target genes to understand the potential mechanism underlying the pathogenesis of cancer.
与DNA甲基化修饰类似,N6-甲基腺嘌呤(mA)已被确定为信使核糖核酸(mRNA)中的一种动态可逆修饰,受mA甲基转移酶和去甲基酶调控。mA修饰调节基因表达,并在许多生命过程中发挥重要作用。一些蛋白质作为mA结合蛋白来执行mA修饰的生物学功能。最近,据报道,mA修饰在人类癌症中起关键作用,包括肺癌、脑肿瘤、白血病等多种癌症。在这篇综述中,我们描述了mRNA的mA修饰在癌症发生发展中所起的作用。这些修饰在某些癌症中似乎具有致癌作用,而在其他癌症中则具有肿瘤抑制作用。因此,研究不同癌症中受mA调控的基因的生物学功能,并确定关键的mA靶基因,对于理解癌症发病机制的潜在机制具有重要意义。