Dynamic Expression of m6A Regulators During Multiple Human Tissue Development and Cancers

Ya Zhang; Sicong Xu; Gang Xu; Yueying Gao; Si Li; Ke Zhang; Zhanyu Tian; Jing Guo; Xia Li; Juan Xu; Yongsheng Li

doi:10.3389/fcell.2020.629030

Dynamic Expression of m⁶A Regulators During Multiple Human Tissue Development and Cancers

Front Cell Dev Biol. 2021 Jan 26:8:629030. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2020.629030. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Ya Zhang^{1

2}, Sicong Xu^{1

2}, Gang Xu^{1

2}, Yueying Gao^{1

2}, Si Li^{1

2}, Ke Zhang^{1

2}, Zhanyu Tian^{1

2}, Jing Guo^{1

2}, Xia Li^{1

2}, Juan Xu^{1

2}, Yongsheng Li^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Tropical Translational Medicine of Ministry of Education, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, China.
² College of Biomedical Information and Engineering, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, China.

Abstract

N6-methyladenosine (m⁶A) plays critical roles in human development and cancer progression. However, our knowledge regarding the dynamic expression of m⁶A regulators during human tissue development is still lacking. Here, we comprehensively analyzed the dynamic expression alterations of m⁶A regulators during seven tissue development and eight cancer types. We found that m⁶A regulators globally exhibited decreased expression during development. In addition, IGF2BP1/2/3 (insulinlike growth factor 2 MRNA-binding protein 1/2/3) exhibited reverse expression pattern in cancer progression, suggesting an oncofetal reprogramming in cancer. The expressions of IGF2BP1/2/3 were regulated by genome alterations, particularly copy number amplification in cancer. Clinical association analysis revealed that higher expressions of IGF2BP1/2/3 were associated with worse survival of cancer patients. Finally, we found that genes significantly correlated with IGF2BP1/2/3 were significantly enriched in cancer hallmark-related pathways. In summary, dynamic expression analysis will guide both mechanistic and therapeutic roles of m⁶A regulators during tissue development and cancer progression.

Keywords: cancer; gene experession; m6A regulators; survival; tissue development.