N-methyladenosine (mA) in pancreatic cancer: Regulatory mechanisms and future direction.

N-methyladenosine (mA), the most abundant RNA modification in eukaryotes, plays a pivotal role in regulating many cellular and biological processes. Aberrant mA modification has recently been involved in carcinogenesis in various cancers, including pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers. It is a heterogeneous malignant disease characterized by a plethora of diverse genetic and epigenetic events. Increasing evidence suggests that dysregulation of mA regulatory factors, such as methyltransferases, demethylases, and mA-binding proteins, profoundly affects the development and progression of pancreatic cancer. In addition, mA regulators and mA target transcripts may be promising early diagnostic and prognostic cancer biomarkers, as well as therapeutic targets. In this review, we highlight the biological functions and mechanisms of mA in pancreatic cancer and discuss the potential of mA modification in clinical applications.