Frontiers in Pharmacology (Apr 2022)

The Emerging Role of N6-Methyladenosine RNA Methylation as Regulators in Cancer Therapy and Drug Resistance

  • Zhaolin Chen,
  • Ying Hu,
  • Le Jin,
  • Fan Yang,
  • Haiwen Ding,
  • Lei Zhang,
  • Lili Li,
  • Tingting Pan

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2022.873030
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13

Abstract

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N6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA methylation has been considered the most prevalent, abundant, and conserved internal transcriptional modification throughout the eukaryotic mRNAs. Typically, m6A RNA methylation is catalyzed by the RNA methyltransferases (writers), is removed by its demethylases (erasers), and interacts with m6A-binding proteins (readers). Accumulating evidence shows that abnormal changes in the m6A levels of these regulators are increasingly associated with human tumorigenesis and drug resistance. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying m6A RNA methylation in tumor occurrence and development have not been comprehensively clarified. We reviewed the recent findings on biological regulation of m6A RNA methylation and summarized its potential therapeutic strategies in various human cancers.

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