The critical roles of m6A modification in metabolic abnormality and cardiovascular diseases

Beijian Zhang; Hao Jiang; Zhen Dong; Aijun Sun; Junbo Ge

doi:10.1016/j.gendis.2020.07.011

The critical roles of m6A modification in metabolic abnormality and cardiovascular diseases

Genes Dis. 2020 Jul 31;8(6):746-758. doi: 10.1016/j.gendis.2020.07.011. eCollection 2021 Nov.

Authors

Beijian Zhang^{1

2

3

4}, Hao Jiang^{1

2

3

4}, Zhen Dong^{1

2

3

4}, Aijun Sun^{1

2

5

3

4}, Junbo Ge^{1

2

5

3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Cardiology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, PR China.
² Shanghai Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Shanghai, 200003, PR China.
³ NHC Key Laboratory of Viral Heart Diseases, Shanghai, 200032, PR China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Viral Heart Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, PR China.
⁵ Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, PR China.

Abstract

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA methylation is an emerging area of epigenetics, which is a reversible and dynamic modification mediating by 'writers' (methylase, adding methyl groups, METTL3, METTL14, and WTAP), 'erasers' (demethylase, deleting methyl groups, FTO and ALKBH5), and 'readers' (YTHDF1-3, YTHDC1 and YTHDC2). Recent studies in human, animal models and cell levels have disclosed a critical role of m6A modification in regulating the homeostasis of metabolic processes and cardiovascular function. Evidence from these studies identify m6A as a candidate of biomarker and therapeutic target for metabolic abnormality and cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Comprehensive understanding of the complexity of m6A regulation in metabolic diseases and CVD will be helpful for us to understand the pathogenesis of CVD. In this review, we discuss the regulatory role of m6A in metabolic abnormality and CVD. We will emphasize the clinical relevance of m6A dysregulation in CVD.

Keywords: Cardiovascular disease; FTO; Heart failure; METTL3; Metabolic syndrome; Myocardial infarction; N6-methyladenosine; RNA epigenetics.

Publication types

Review