Dynamic and reversible RNA N 6 -methyladenosine methylation

Abstract

N 6 -methyladenosine (m 6 A) is the most abundant internal chemical modification in eukaryotic messenger RNAs (mRNAs). The discovery in 2011 that m 6 A is reversed by the fat mass and obesity-associated protein stimulated extensive worldwide research efforts on the regulatory biological functions of dynamic m 6 A and other RNA modifications. The epitranscriptomic mark m 6 A is written, read, and erased through the activities of a complicated network of enzymes and other proteins. m 6 A-binding proteins read m 6 A marks and transduce their downstream regulatory effects by altering RNA metabolic processes. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of m 6 A modifications, with particular focus on the functions of its writer, eraser, and reader proteins in posttranscriptional gene regulation and discuss the impact of m 6 A marks on human health. This article is categorized under: RNA Processing > RNA Editing and Modification RNA in Disease and Development > RNA in Disease.