N6-Adenosine Methylation of miRNA-200b-3p Influences Its Functionality and Is a Theranostic Tool

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) play crucial roles in biological and pathological processes. Some miRNAs also appear as promising biomarkers and therapeutic tools. However, the epitranscriptomic regulation of miRNAs is not yet fully elucidated in all of their fields of application. We report that adenosine methylation of miR-200b-3p inhibits its repressive function toward its mRNA targets such as XIAP by blocking the formation of the miRNA/3′ UTRmRNA duplex. Our data indicate that the adenosine methylation of miR-200b-3p is associated with the survival of glioblastoma patients. Collectively, our data support the idea that the adenosine methylation of miR-200b-3p can be used as a prodrug having a selective cytotoxicity against cancer cells (while being harmless to peripheral blood mononuclear cells [PBMCs], astrocytes, neurons, and hepatocytes).

Keywords

• miRNA methylation
• glioblastoma
• adenosine methylation
• prodrug
• biomarker