Upregulation of METTL14 mediates the elevation of PERP mRNA N adenosine methylation promoting the growth and metastasis of pancreatic cancer.

BACKGROUND

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal human cancers. N-methyladenosine (mA), a common eukaryotic mRNA modification, plays critical roles in both physiological and pathological processes. However, its role in pancreatic cancer remains elusive.

METHODS

LC/MS was used to profile mA levels in pancreatic cancer and normal tissues. Bioinformatics analysis, real-time PCR, immunohistochemistry, and western blotting were used to identify the role of mA regulators in pancreatic cancer. The biological effects of methyltransferase-like 14 (METTL14), an mRNA methylase, were investigated using in vitro and in vivo models. MeRIP-Seq and RNA-Seq were used to assess the downstream targets of METTL14.

RESULTS

We found that the mA levels were elevated in approximately 70% of the pancreatic cancer samples. Furthermore, we demonstrated that METTL14 is the major enzyme that modulates mA methylation (frequency and site of methylation). METTL14 overexpression markedly promoted pancreatic cancer cell proliferation and migration both in vitro and in vivo, via direct targeting of the downstream PERP mRNA (p53 effector related to PMP-22) in an mA-dependent manner. Methylation of the target adenosine lead to increased PERP mRNA turnover, thus decreasing PERP (mRNA and protein) levels in pancreatic cancer cells.

CONCLUSIONS

Our data suggest that the upregulation of METTL14 leads to the decrease of PERP levels via mA modification, promoting the growth and metastasis of pancreatic cancer; therefore METTL14 is a potential therapeutic target for its treatment.