HNRNPC可能成为肺腺癌独立的预后因子

为探讨RNA m⁶A甲基化调节因子在肺腺癌中的作用,从TCGA数据库下载肺腺癌患者的RNA表达数据和临床数据。通过limma软件包分析12种m⁶A调节剂的表达情况。使用Pheatmap、vioplot和corrplot软件包生成热图、小提琴图和表达相关图。采用Kaplan-Meier方法分别计算肺腺癌中12种RNA m⁶A调节因子的生存曲线。使用Cox回归和Kaplan-Meier方法分析TCGA肺腺癌患者的总体存活相关的临床病理学特征。最后用Kruskal(KS)检验和logistic回归分析临床病理学特征与HNRNPC表达的关系。 在肺腺癌的TCGA队列中,发现HNRNPC、WTAP、YTHDF3、FTO、ZC3H13、METTL14、METTL3、YTHDF1、YTHDF2这些基因是差异表达的。Kaplan-Meier生存分析显示,在这些差异表达的基因中仅仅HNRNPC和YTHDF2的表达与生存显著相关。然后,通过多因素Cox回归结果表明HNRNPC的表达在肺腺癌TCGA队列中是个独立危险因素。最后,HNRNPC在肺腺癌中的表达与临床分期(IV vs I, OR=3.692 308)和组织浸润(T2 vs T1, OR=1.776 471;T4 vs T1, OR=6.303 03)显著相关(所有p<0.05)。 结论认为HNRNPC可能作为肺腺癌的独立的预后因子。     

The m6A methyltransferase METTL3 modifies PGC-1α mRNA promoting mitochondrial dysfunction and oxLDL-induced inflammation in monocytes

Mitochondrial biogenesis and energy metabolism are essential for regulating the inflammatory state of monocytes. This state is partially controlled by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha (PGC-1α), a coactivator that regulates mitochondrial biogenesis and energy metabolism. Disruption of these processes can also contribute to the initiation of chronic inflammatory diseases, such as pulmonary fibrosis, atherosclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis. Methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3)-dependent N⁶-methyladenosine (m⁶A) methylation has recently been shown to regulate a variety of inflammatory processes. However, the role of m⁶A mRNA methylation in affecting mitochondrial metabolism in monocytes under inflammation is unclear, nor is there an established relationship between m⁶A methylation and PGC-1α. In this study, we identified a novel mechanism by which METTL3 acts during oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL)-induced monocyte inflammation, where METTL3 and YTH N⁶-methyladenosine RNA binding protein 2 (YTHDF2) cooperatively modify PGC-1α mRNA, mediating its degradation, decreasing PGC-1α protein levels, and thereby enhancing the inflammatory response. METTL3 coordinated with YTHDF2 to suppress the expression of PGC-1α, as well as that of cytochrome c (CYCS) and NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase subunit C2 (NDUFC2) and reduced ATP production and oxygen consumption rate (OCR). This subsequently increased the accumulation of cellular and mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the levels of proinflammatory cytokines in inflammatory monocytes. These data may provide new insights into the role of METTL3-dependent m⁶A modification of PGC-1α mRNA in the monocyte inflammation response. These data also contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the pathogenesis of monocyte-macrophage inflammation-associated diseases, such as pulmonary fibrosis, atherosclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.     

Human METTL16 is a N6‐methyladenosine (m6A) methyltransferase that targets pre‐mRNAs and various non‐coding RNAs

N⁶‐methyladenosine (m⁶A) is a highly dynamic RNA modification that has recently emerged as a key regulator of gene expression. While many m⁶A modifications are installed by the METTL3–METTL14 complex, others appear to be introduced independently, implying that additional human m⁶A methyltransferases remain to be identified. Using crosslinking and analysis of cDNA (CRAC), we reveal that the putative human m⁶A “writer” protein METTL16 binds to the U6 snRNA and other ncRNAs as well as numerous lncRNAs and pre‐mRNAs. We demonstrate that METTL16 is responsible for N⁶‐methylation of A43 of the U6 snRNA and identify the early U6 biogenesis factors La, LARP7 and the methylphosphate capping enzyme MEPCE as METTL16 interaction partners. Interestingly, A43 lies within an essential ACAGAGA box of U6 that base pairs with 5′ splice sites of pre‐mRNAs during splicing, suggesting that METTL16‐mediated modification of this site plays an important role in splicing regulation. The identification of METTL16 as an active m⁶A methyltransferase in human cells expands our understanding of the mechanisms by which the m⁶A landscape is installed on cellular RNAs.     

Prognostic signature and immune efficacy of m1A-, m5C- and m6A-related regulators in cutaneous melanoma

Cutaneous melanoma (CM) is an aggressive cancer; given that initial and specific signs are lacking, diagnosis is often late and the prognosis is poor. RNA modification has been widely studied in tumour progression. Nevertheless, little progress has been made in the signature of N¹-methyladenosine (m¹A), 5-methylcytosine (m⁵C), N⁶-methyladenosine (m⁶A)-related regulators and the tumour microenvironment (TME) cell infiltration in CM. Our study identified the characteristics of m¹A-, m⁵C- and m⁶A-related regulators based on 468 CM samples from the public database. Using univariate, multivariate and LASSO Cox regression analysis, a risk model of regulators was established and validated by a nomogram on independent prognostic factors. The gene set variation analysis (GSVA) and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) clarified the involved functional pathways. A combined single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) and CIBERSORT approach revealed TME of regulator-related prognostic signature. The nine-gene signature stratified the patients into distinct risk subgroups for personalized prognostic assessment. Additionally, functional enrichment, immune infiltration and immunotherapy response analysis indicated that the high-risk group was correlated with T-cell suppression, while the low-risk group was more sensitive to immunotherapy. The findings presented here contribute to our understanding of the TME molecular heterogeneity in CM. Nine m¹A-, m⁵C- and m⁶A-related regulators may also be promising biomarkers for future research.     

Roles of N6‐methyladenosine (m6A) RNA modifications in urological cancers

Epigenetics has long been a hot topic in the field of scientific research. The scope of epigenetics usually includes chromatin remodelling, DNA methylation, histone modifications, non‐coding RNAs and RNA modifications. In recent years, RNA modifications have emerged as important regulators in a variety of physiological processes and in disease progression, especially in human cancers. Among the various RNA modifications, m⁶A is the most common. The function of m⁶A modifications is mainly regulated by 3 types of proteins: m⁶A methyltransferases (writers), m⁶A demethylases (erasers) and m⁶A‐binding proteins (readers). In this review, we focus on RNA m⁶A modification and its relationship with urological cancers, particularly focusing on its roles and potential clinical applications.     

Expression and prognostic characteristics of m5C regulators in low-grade glioma

Glioma is the most common intracranial malignant tumour. A clear diagnosis and molecular targeted therapy are of great significance for improving the survival time and quality of life of patients with low-grade glioma. 5-methylcytosine methylation is one of the ways of RNA modification, but there are limited studies on the role of m⁵C methylation of low-grade glioma. Single-nucleotide variant, RNA expression matrix and corresponding clinical data of low-grade glioma came from public database. The single-nucleotide variant and expression of m⁵C regulators were estimated. A prognostic model based on m⁵C regulators was constructed by Cox regression. Potential functions of these molecules were assessed by gene set enrichment analysis. DNMT3A mutation was the most frequent among the m⁵C regulators in low-grade glioma. NSUN3, TET2, TRDMT1, ALYREF, DNMT3B, DNMT1, NOP2 and NSUN2 were up-regulated. One prognostic model was constructed which had a strong predictive power for the overall survival of low-grade glioma. We studied the expression and prognostic characteristics of m⁵C regulators in low-grade glioma, supplied biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis and provided the foundation for the study of the pathogenesis of low-grade glioma.     

N~6 -methyl-adenosine (m ~6A) in RNA: An Old Modification with A Novel Epigenetic Function

N6 -methyl-adenosine (m6A) is one of the most common and abundant modifications on RNA molecules present in eukaryotes. However, the biological significance of m6A methylation remains largely unknown. Several independent lines of evidence suggest that the dynamic regulation of m6A may have a profound impact on gene expression regulation. The m6A modification is catalyzed by an unidentified methyltransferase complex containing at least one subunit methyltransferase like 3 (METTL3). m6A modification on messenger RNAs (mRNAs) mainly occurs in the exonic regions and 3’-untranslated region (3’-UTR) as revealed by high-throughput m6A-seq. One significant advance in m6A research is the recent discovery of the first two m6A RNA demethylases fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) gene and ALKBH5, which catalyze m6A demethylation in an a-ketoglutarate (a-KG)-and Fe2+-dependent manner. Recent studies in model organisms demonstrate that METTL3, FTO and ALKBH5 play important roles in many biological processes, ranging from development and metabolism to fertility. Moreover, perturbation of activities of these enzymes leads to the disturbed expression of thousands of genes at the cellular level, implicating a regulatory role of m6A in RNA metabolism. Given the vital roles of DNA and histone methylations in epigenetic regulation of basic life processes in mammals, the dynamic and reversible chemical m6A modification on RNA may also serve as a novel epigenetic marker of profound biological significances.     

m6A甲基转移酶家族Fiona/METT-10/METTL16的功能

RNA碱基上的化学修饰在其功能的精准调节中发挥关键作用,其中m⁶A是自然界中最普遍的RNA修饰之一,且该修饰在调控RNA稳定性、pre-mRNA剪接、翻译等方面具有重要功能。在真核生物中,m⁶A修饰主要由两种甲基转移酶完成,其在哺乳动物中分别命名为METTL3和METTL16。与METTL3相似,METTL16的底物多种多样,包括pre-mRNA、rRNA、snRNA和lncRNA等,因此似乎难以用一种分子机理解释METTL16对不同RNA底物进行m⁶A修饰的功能。此外,METTL16还在翻译调控中发挥重要作用,但此过程不依赖其甲基转移酶活性,这进一步增加了高度保守的METTL16的功能复杂性。本综述总结了METTL16及其同源蛋白质的结构域、甲基化底物以及它们的潜在功能,着重阐述了在不同物种中关于METTL16研究结果的矛盾之处,并推测METTL16调控S-腺苷基甲硫氨酸(SAM)代谢的功能是趋同进化的一个潜在案例。