Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of Chinese Academy of Sciences & Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, 650223, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049, Beijing, China.
Signal Transduct Target Ther. 2021 Feb 21;6(1):74. doi: 10.1038/s41392-020-00450-x.
N-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most prevalent, abundant and conserved internal cotranscriptional modification in eukaryotic RNAs, especially within higher eukaryotic cells. m6A modification is modified by the m6A methyltransferases, or writers, such as METTL3/14/16, RBM15/15B, ZC3H3, VIRMA, CBLL1, WTAP, and KIAA1429, and, removed by the demethylases, or erasers, including FTO and ALKBH5. It is recognized by m6A-binding proteins YTHDF1/2/3, YTHDC1/2 IGF2BP1/2/3 and HNRNPA2B1, also known as "readers". Recent studies have shown that m6A RNA modification plays essential role in both physiological and pathological conditions, especially in the initiation and progression of different types of human cancers. In this review, we discuss how m6A RNA methylation influences both the physiological and pathological progressions of hematopoietic, central nervous and reproductive systems. We will mainly focus on recent progress in identifying the biological functions and the underlying molecular mechanisms of m6A RNA methylation, its regulators and downstream target genes, during cancer progression in above systems. We propose that m6A RNA methylation process offer potential targets for cancer therapy in the future.
N6-甲基腺苷(m6A)是真核生物 RNA 中转录共发生的最普遍、丰富和保守的内部修饰,特别是在高等真核细胞中。m6A 修饰由 m6A 甲基转移酶(writers)修饰,如 METTL3/14/16、RBM15/15B、ZC3H3、VIRMA、CBLL1、WTAP 和 KIAA1429,由去甲基酶(erasers)去除,如 FTO 和 ALKBH5。它被 m6A 结合蛋白 YTHDF1/2/3、YTHDC1/2、IGF2BP1/2/3 和 HNRNPA2B1 识别,也称为“reader”。最近的研究表明,m6A RNA 修饰在生理和病理条件下都起着至关重要的作用,特别是在不同类型人类癌症的发生和发展中。在这篇综述中,我们讨论了 m6A RNA 甲基化如何影响造血、中枢神经系统和生殖系统的生理和病理进展。我们将主要关注最近在鉴定 m6A RNA 甲基化在上述系统癌症进展中的生物学功能和潜在分子机制、其调节剂和下游靶基因方面的进展。我们提出,m6A RNA 甲基化过程为未来癌症治疗提供了潜在的靶点。