The roles of m6A in cancer biology and its targeted therapy / 药学学报

ABSTRACT

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification is one of the most common modifications of eukaryotic mRNA, and has become a hotspot in the field of life sciences in recent years. m6A modification is dynamically reversible in mammalian cells and regulated by m6A methyltransferase (writers), demethylase (erasers), and "reader" proteins. m6A can regulate various biological processes of mRNA such as RNA splicing, nuclear export, protein translation and degradation. Recent studies indicated that m6A is important for the initiation and development of cancer. The present review summarized biological functions of m6A on mRNA and discussed its roles in cell proliferation, migration, invasion, cell mentalism, and angiogenesis. Further, the m6A can regulate the development of various cancers including acute myelocytic leukemia (AML), breast, liver and colorectal cancer. Nowadays, the inhibitors of m6A related enzymes including fat-mass and obesity-associated protein and AlkB homolog 5 are being developed. We further discussed the potential values of m6A and its related targets on cancer therapy and treatment.