Progress in n6-methyladenosine epigenetic modification in tumors / 肿瘤

ABSTRACT

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification is considered to be an epigenetic modification, which is similar to DNA or histone modification. Through the interaction between m6A methyltransferase and demethylase, m6A modification is involved in a variety of biological processes such as RNA splicing, protein translation and stem cell regeneration. Recently, plenty of studies have found that m6A is associated with cancer, contributes to the self-renewal of cancer stem cells, promotes the proliferation of cancer cells, and increases the resistance of radiotherapy or chemotherapy. Moreover, the inhibitors of m6A-related factors have been discovered, and some of them have been identified to inhibit cancer progression, suggesting that m6A may be a target of anticancer therapy. This article briefly reviews the function of m6A in human tumors.