m6A RNA Methylation Controls Proliferation of Human Glioma Cells by Influencing Cell Apoptosis

Cytogenet Genome Res. 2019;159(3):119-125. doi: 10.1159/000499062. Epub 2019 Oct 23.

Abstract

Glioma, as one of the most aggressive tumors, is hardly cleaned by surgical removal, leading to a low survival rate. m6A is an internal modification in RNA and plays an important role in many kinds of cancers. In our study, we detected that the m6A level was decreased in glioma tissue, which might be caused by decreased METTL3 and increased FTO levels. We upregulated the m6A level in U251 cells by overexpressing METTL3. The results showed that a high level of m6A led to a reduced migration and proliferation ability, and vice versa. Finally, we performed a TUNEL assay and showed that m6A regulated cell proliferation by influencing apoptosis of U251 cells through regulating HSP90 expression.

Keywords: Apoptosis; Glioma; Proliferation; m6A.

MeSH terms

  • Adenosine / analogs & derivatives*
  • Adenosine / metabolism
  • Apoptosis / genetics*
  • Brain Neoplasms / genetics
  • Brain Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Cell Line
  • Cell Movement / genetics
  • Cell Proliferation / genetics*
  • Glioma / genetics
  • Glioma / pathology*
  • Humans
  • Methylation*
  • Methyltransferases / genetics
  • Methyltransferases / metabolism

Substances

  • N-methyladenosine
  • Methyltransferases
  • METTL3 protein, human
  • Adenosine