Dynamic regulation and key roles of ribonucleic acid methylation

Jia Zou; Hui Liu; Wei Tan; Yi-Qi Chen; Jing Dong; Shu-Yuan Bai; Zhao-Xia Wu; Yan Zeng

doi:10.3389/fncel.2022.1058083

Dynamic regulation and key roles of ribonucleic acid methylation

Front Cell Neurosci. 2022 Dec 19:16:1058083. doi: 10.3389/fncel.2022.1058083. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Jia Zou^{1

2}, Hui Liu^{1

2}, Wei Tan¹, Yi-Qi Chen^{1

2}, Jing Dong^{1

2}, Shu-Yuan Bai^{1

2}, Zhao-Xia Wu³, Yan Zeng^{1

2

4}

Affiliations

¹ Community Health Service Center, Geriatric Hospital Affiliated to Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
² Brain Science and Advanced Technology Institute, School of Medicine, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
³ Community Health Service Center, Wuchang Hospital, Wuhan, China.
⁴ School of Public Health, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.

Abstract

Ribonucleic acid (RNA) methylation is the most abundant modification in biological systems, accounting for 60% of all RNA modifications, and affects multiple aspects of RNA (including mRNAs, tRNAs, rRNAs, microRNAs, and long non-coding RNAs). Dysregulation of RNA methylation causes many developmental diseases through various mechanisms mediated by N ⁶-methyladenosine (m⁶A), 5-methylcytosine (m⁵C), N ¹-methyladenosine (m¹A), 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (hm⁵C), and pseudouridine (Ψ). The emerging tools of RNA methylation can be used as diagnostic, preventive, and therapeutic markers. Here, we review the accumulated discoveries to date regarding the biological function and dynamic regulation of RNA methylation/modification, as well as the most popularly used techniques applied for profiling RNA epitranscriptome, to provide new ideas for growth and development.

Keywords: 5-hydroxymethylcytosine; 5-methylcytosine; N1-methyladenosine; N6-methyladenosine; RNA methylation; pseudouridine.

Publication types

Review