Xie Shumin, Jin Li, He Jun, Fu Jinfeng, Yin Tuanfang, Ren Jihao, Liu Wei
Hunan Provincial Key Lab, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, The Xiangya Hospital, Otolaryngology Institute of Major Diseases, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Front Genet. 2023 Aug 7;14:1188048. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2023.1188048. eCollection 2023.
Middle ear cholesteatoma is characterized by the hyperproliferation of keratinocytes. In recent decades, N-methyladenosine (mA) modification has been shown to play an essential role in the pathogenesis of many proliferative diseases. However, neither the mA modification profile nor its potential role in the pathogenesis of middle ear cholesteatoma has currently been investigated. Therefore, this study aimed to explore mA modification patterns in middle ear cholesteatoma. An mA mRNA epitranscriptomic microarray analysis was performed to analyze mA modification patterns in middle ear cholesteatoma tissue ( = 5) and normal post-auricular skin samples ( = 5). Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses were performed to predict the potential biological functions and signaling pathways underlying the pathogenesis of middle ear cholesteatoma. Subsequently, mA modification levels were verified by methylated RNA immunoprecipitation-qPCR (MeRIP-qPCR) in middle ear cholesteatoma tissue and normal skin samples, respectively. A total of 6,865 distinctive mA-modified mRNAs were identified, including 4,620 hypermethylated and 2,245 hypomethylated mRNAs, as well as 9,162 differentially expressed mRNAs, including 4,891 upregulated and 4,271 downregulated mRNAs, in the middle ear cholesteatoma group relative to the normal skin group. An association analysis between methylation and gene expression demonstrated that expression of 1,926 hypermethylated mRNAs was upregulated, while expression of 2,187 hypomethylated mRNAs and 38 hypermethylated mRNAs was downregulated. Moreover, GO analysis suggested that differentially methylated mRNAs might influence cellular processes and biological behaviors, such as cell differentiation, biosynthetic processes, regulation of molecular functions, and keratinization. KEGG pathway analysis demonstrated that the hypermethylated transcripts were involved in 26 pathways, including the Hippo signaling pathway, the p53 signaling pathway, and the inflammatory mediator regulation of transient receptor potential (TRP) channels, while the hypomethylated transcripts were involved in 13 pathways, including bacterial invasion of epithelial cells, steroid biosynthesis, and the Hippo signaling pathway. Our study presents mA modification patterns in middle ear cholesteatoma, which may exert regulatory roles in middle ear cholesteatoma. The present study provides directions for mRNA mA modification-based research on the epigenetic etiology and pathogenesis of middle ear cholesteatoma.
中耳胆脂瘤的特征是角质形成细胞的过度增殖。近几十年来,N-甲基腺苷(mA)修饰已被证明在许多增殖性疾病的发病机制中起重要作用。然而,目前尚未对中耳胆脂瘤发病机制中的mA修饰谱及其潜在作用进行研究。因此,本研究旨在探索中耳胆脂瘤中的mA修饰模式。进行了一项mA mRNA表观转录组微阵列分析,以分析中耳胆脂瘤组织(n = 5)和正常耳后皮肤样本(n = 5)中的mA修饰模式。进行基因本体(GO)和京都基因与基因组百科全书(KEGG)通路分析,以预测中耳胆脂瘤发病机制潜在的生物学功能和信号通路。随后,分别通过甲基化RNA免疫沉淀-qPCR(MeRIP-qPCR)验证中耳胆脂瘤组织和正常皮肤样本中的mA修饰水平。相对于正常皮肤组,中耳胆脂瘤组共鉴定出6865个独特的mA修饰mRNA,包括4620个高甲基化mRNA和2245个低甲基化mRNA,以及9162个差异表达mRNA,包括4891个上调mRNA和4271个下调mRNA。甲基化与基因表达之间的关联分析表明1926个高甲基化mRNA的表达上调,而2187个低甲基化mRNA和38个高甲基化mRNA的表达下调。此外,GO分析表明差异甲基化mRNA可能影响细胞过程和生物学行为,如细胞分化、生物合成过程、分子功能调节和角质化。KEGG通路分析表明,高甲基化转录本参与26条通路,包括Hippo信号通路、p53信号通路和瞬时受体电位(TRP)通道的炎症介质调节,而低甲基化转录本参与13条通路,包括细菌侵袭上皮细胞、类固醇生物合成和Hippo信号通路。我们的研究展示了中耳胆脂瘤中的mA修饰模式,其可能在中耳胆脂瘤中发挥调节作用。本研究为基于mRNA mA修饰的中耳胆脂瘤表观遗传病因和发病机制研究提供了方向。