Regulatory Role of N6 -methyladenosine (m6 A) Methylation in RNA Processing and Human Diseases

Abstract

N⁶ -methyladenosine (m⁶ A) modification is an abundant and conservative RNA modification in bacterial and eukaryotic cells. m⁶ A modification mainly occurs in the 3' untranslated regions (UTRs) and near the stop codons of mRNA. Diverse strategies have been developed for identifying m⁶ A sites in single nucleotide resolution. Dynamic regulation of m⁶ A is found in metabolism, embryogenesis, and developmental processes, indicating a possible epigenetic regulation role along RNA processing and exerting biological functions. It has been known that m⁶ A editing involves in nuclear RNA export, mRNA degradation, protein translation, and RNA splicing. Deficiency of m⁶ A modification will lead to kinds of diseases, such as obesity, cancer, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), infertility, and developmental arrest. Some specific inhibitors against methyltransferase and demethylase have been developed to selectively regulate m⁶ A modification, which may be advantageous for treatment of m⁶ A related diseases. J. Cell. Biochem. 118: 2534-2543, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Keywords: DEMETHYLASE; HUMAN DISEASES; METHYLTRANSFERASE; RNA PROCESSING; m6A MODIFICATION.