N 6-methyladenosine (m 6A) is the most prevalent post-transcriptional RNA modification in eukaryotic cells. m 6A methyltransferase complexes and demethylases are involved in the dynamic and reversible regulation of m 6A modification, while m 6A binding proteins could specifically identify m 6A modification and regulate RNA metabolism, including splicing, translocation, stability, and translation. m 6A is found to play a vital role in all the fundamental biological processes, including the regulation of the immune system, from normal development to diseases. The normal development and functioning of the immune system rely on the precise regulation of the relevant gene expression, and m 6A modification is crucial to the regulation. Herein, we reviewed the concept, the functions, and the mechanism of m 6A modification, concentrating on its role in immune system function modulation. Furthermore, we highlighted present obstacles and future research directions in the field, intending to provide a theoretical foundation and reference for future study on how m 6A modification is involved in immune regulation.
目前，在编码和非编码RNA中已经发现超过100种化学修饰。N6-甲基腺苷（N6-methyladenosine, m6A）是真核细胞中最常见和最丰富的转录后水平RNA修饰，m6A甲基转移酶及去甲基化酶参与m6A修饰水平的动态可逆调节，m6A修饰识别蛋白特异性识别m6A修饰并调控RNA的剪接、转运、稳定性和翻译。 m6A修饰几乎参与了从正常发育到疾病的所有主要生物过程，包括对免疫系统的调控。免疫系统的正常发育和功能行使依赖于相关基因表达的精准调控，而m6A修饰在该调控中起到关键作用。本文围绕m6A修饰的概念、功能和作用机制，特别是其在免疫系统功能调控中的作用进行综述，讨论了目前该研究领域的挑战并展望未来的研究方向，以期为m6A修饰参与免疫调控的研究提供理论依据和参考。
Keywords: Immunoregulation; N6-methyladenosine; RNA modification.
Copyright© by Editorial Board of Journal of Sichuan University (Medical Sciences).