RNA N6-methyladenosine modification in cancers: current status and perspectives
N6-methyladenosine (m6A), the most abundant internal modification in eukaryotic messenger RNAs (mRNAs), has been shown to play critical roles in various normal bioprocesses such as tissue development, stem cell self-renewal and differentiation, heat shock or DNA damage response, and maternal-to-zygotic transition. The m6A modification is deposited by the m6A methyltransferase complex (MTC; i.e., writer) composed of METTL3, METTL14 and WTAP, and probably also VIRMA and RBM15, and can be removed by m6A demethylases (i.e., erasers) such as FTO and ALKBH5. The fates of m6A-modified mRNAs rely on the functions of distinct proteins that recognize them (i.e., readers), which may affect the stability, splicing, and/or translation of target mRNAs. Given the functional importance of the m6A modification machinery in normal bioprocesses, it is not surprising that evidence is emerging that dysregulation of m6A modification and the associated proteins also contributes to the initiation, progression, and drug response of cancers. In this review, we focus on recent advances in the study of biological functions and the underlying molecular mechanisms of dysregulated m6A modification and the associated machinery in the pathogenesis and drug response of various types of cancers. In addition, we also discuss possible therapeutic interventions against the dysregulated m6A machinery to treat cancers.
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We apologize to colleagues whose work could not be included due to space limitations. This work was supported in part by a grant No.81603149 to X.D. from National Nature Science Foundation of China, as well as the National Institutes of Health NIH R01 Grants CA214965;CA211614;CA178454 J.C.. Z.L. is supported by an American Cancer Society ACS Research Scholar Award. J.C. is a Leukemia & Lymphoma Society LLS Scholar
2018-08-28（万方平台首次上网日期，不代表论文的发表时间）
共11页
507-517
