The roles of m6A RNA modifiers in human cancer

Abstract

Like DNA and proteins, RNA is subject to numerous (over 160) covalent modifications which play critical roles to regulate RNA metabolism. Among these modifications, N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most prevalent RNA methylation on mRNA which occurs on around 25% of transcripts. The recent studies demonstrated that m6A participates in many aspects of RNA processing, including splicing, nuclear exporting, translation, stabilization, etc. Therefore, it revealed a new layer of regulatory mechanism for gene expression and has been termed “RNA Epigenetics” or “Epitranscriptomics”. RNA m6A is regulated and exerts its functions by three groups of “m6A RNA modifiers” including m6A methyltransferases (writers), m6A demethylases (erasers), and m6A binding proteins (readers). In this review, we would summarize and discuss the current understandings of the roles of the conventional m6A RNA modifiers in human cancers.