New understandings of the genetic regulatory relationship between non-coding RNAs and m6A modification

Abstract

One of the most frequent epigenetic modifications of RNA in eukaryotes is N6 methyladenosine (m⁶A), which is mostly present in messenger RNAs. Through the influence of several RNA processing stages, m⁶A modification is a crucial approach for controlling gene expression, especially in cancer progression. It is universally acknowledged that numerous non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), such as microRNAs, circular RNAs, long non-coding RNAs, and piRNAs, are also significantly affected by m⁶A modification, and the complex genetic regulatory relationship between m⁶A and ncRNAs plays a pivotal role in the development of cancer. The connection between m⁶A modifications and ncRNAs offers an opportunity to explore the oncogene potential regulatory mechanisms and suggests that m⁶A modifications and ncRNAs could be vital biomarkers for multiple cancers. In this review, we discuss the mechanisms of interaction between m⁶A methylation and ncRNAs in cancer, and we also summarize diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for clinical cancer detection. Furthermore, our article includes some methodologies for identifying m⁶A sites when assessing biomarker potential.

Keywords: biomarker; cancer; genetic regulation; m6A modification; non-coding RNA.