Dynamics of m6A RNA Methylome on the Hallmarks of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Enakshi Sivasudhan; Neil Blake; Zhi-Liang Lu; Jia Meng; Rong Rong

doi:10.3389/fcell.2021.642443

Dynamics of m6A RNA Methylome on the Hallmarks of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Front Cell Dev Biol. 2021 Apr 1:9:642443. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2021.642443. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Enakshi Sivasudhan^{1

2}, Neil Blake², Zhi-Liang Lu^{1

3}, Jia Meng^{1

3}, Rong Rong^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biological Sciences, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou, China.
² Department of Clinical Infection, Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
³ Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom.

Abstract

Epidemiological data consistently rank hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) as one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide, often posing severe economic burden on health care. While the molecular etiopathogenesis associated with genetic and epigenetic modifications has been extensively explored, the biological influence of the emerging field of epitranscriptomics and its associated aberrant RNA modifications on tumorigenesis is a largely unexplored territory with immense potential for discovering new therapeutic approaches. In particular, the underlying cellular mechanisms of different hallmarks of hepatocarcinogenesis that are governed by the complex dynamics of m6A RNA methylation demand further investigation. In this review, we reveal the up-to-date knowledge on the mechanistic and functional link between m6A RNA methylation and pathogenesis of HCC.

Keywords: cancer hallmarks; epitranscriptomics; erasers; hepatocellular carcinoma; m6A RNA methylation; readers; writers.

Publication types

Review