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New horizons for the role of RNA N6-methyladenosine modification in hepatocellular carcinoma

Acta Pharmacologica Sinica (2024)Cite this article

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignancy, presenting a formidable challenge to the medical community owing to its intricate pathogenic mechanisms. Although current prevention, surveillance, early detection, diagnosis, and treatment have achieved some success in preventing HCC and controlling overall disease mortality, the imperative to explore novel treatment modalities for HCC remains increasingly urgent. Epigenetic modification has emerged as pivotal factors in the etiology of cancer. Among these, RNA N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification stands out as one of the most prevalent, abundant, and evolutionarily conserved post-transcriptional alterations in eukaryotes. The literature underscores that the dynamic and reversible nature of m6A modifications orchestrates the intricate regulation of gene expression, thereby exerting a profound influence on cell destinies. Increasing evidence has substantiated conspicuous fluctuations in m6A modification levels throughout the progression of HCC. The deliberate modulation of m6A modification levels through molecular biology and pharmacological interventions has been demonstrated to exert a discernible impact on the pathogenesis of HCC. In this review, we elucidate the multifaceted biological functions of m6A modifications in HCC, and concurrently advancing novel therapeutic strategies for the management of this malignancy.

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Fig. 1: The characteristics of RNA m6A modification.
Fig. 2: Roles of writers, erasers, and readers in hepatocellular carcinoma development.
Fig. 3: The m6A modification is a regulator in the HCC landscape.

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Acknowledgements

The work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (82374124, 82073914, 82000572, 82173874, 82274185, 82305046, 82304902), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20200840, BK20220467), the Major Project of the Natural Science Research of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (20KJB310003, 22KJB310013), the Joint Project of Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Pharmacology and Safety Evaluation of Chinese Materia Medica and Yangtze River Pharmaceutical (JKLPSE202005), the Open Project of Chinese Materia Medica First-Class Discipline of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine (2020YLKX023, 2020YLKX022), Jiangsu Provincial Double-Innovation Doctor Program (JSSCBS20220452, JSSCBS20220472), Young Elite Scientists Sponsorship Program by CACM (2022-QNRC2-B15), Outstanding Young Doctoral Training Program (2023QB0124), the Natural Science Foundation of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine (NZY82000572, NZY82305046). The work was sponsored by the Qing Lan Project.

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  1. Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Pharmacology and Safety Evaluation of Chinese Materia Medica, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210023, China

    Yu-jia Li, Yang-ling Qiu, Meng-ran Li, Feng Zhang, Jiang-juan Shao, Zi-li Zhang & Shi-zhong Zheng

  2. Institute of Translational Medicine, Medical College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, China

    Min Shen

  3. Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine & Holistic Integrative Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210023, China

    Xue-fen Xu

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  1. Yu-jia Li
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Li, Yj., Qiu, Yl., Li, Mr. et al. New horizons for the role of RNA N6-methyladenosine modification in hepatocellular carcinoma. Acta Pharmacol Sin (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41401-023-01214-3

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