Comprehensive analysis of RNA m6A methylation in pressure overload-induced cardiac hypertrophy

Abstract

Abstract Aim To analyze and compare the mRNA N6-methyladenosine modifications in transverse aortic constriction induced mice hearts and normal mice hearts. Materials and methods Colorimetric quantification was used to probe the changes in m6A modifications in the total RNA. The expression of m6A-related enzymes was analyzed via qRT-PCR and western blotting. RNA-seq and MeRIP-seq were performed to identify genes with differences in m6A modifications or expression in the transcriptome profile. Results Compared with the control group, the TAC group exhibited higher m6A methylation levels. FTO and WTAP were downregulated after TAC, while METTL3 was significantly downregulated at the protein level. MeRIP-seq revealed that 1179 m6A peaks were upmethylated and 733 m6A peaks were downmethylated, and biological analysis of these genes exhibited a strong relationship with heart function. Conclusion Our findings provide novel information regarding m6A modification and gene expression changes in cardiac hypertrophy, which may be fundamental for further research.

Keywords

• Cardiac hypertrophy
• m6A transcriptome
• MeRIP-seq