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Novel insights into m6A modification in circular RNA and implications for immunity

Cellular & Molecular Immunology volume 17, pages 668–669 (2020)Cite this article

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Chemical modifications play an important role in modifying and regulating the functions of coding and noncoding RNAs. Noncoding RNAs mainly include microRNAs (miRNAs), long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), and circular RNAs (circRNAs). A common feature of these noncoding RNAs is that they are all transcribed from the genome and can perform biological functions. Importantly, the stable expression of noncoding RNAs in vivo makes them potential biomarkers for the diagnosis, prognosis, and clinical treatment of cancers and a variety of immunological diseases.1,2

circRNAs are a new type of regulatory RNA that are widely expressed in eukaryotic cells and participate in a multitude of biological processes. Unlike linear RNAs with a 5′ cap and 3′ tail structure, circRNAs have a unique circular covalently closed structure, which protects them from exonucleases. Although the mechanisms of circRNA generation and function are not clear, emerging evidence has shown that circRNAs are involved in epithelial–mesenchymal transition, protein translation (as templates), regulation of gene expression and can also act as miRNA sponges.3 In addition, circRNAs play an important role in the initiation and progression of human diseases, especially tumorigenesis and antitumor immunity.3,4 Surprisingly, recent breakthrough investigations have demonstrated that N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification occurs in circRNAs and promotes protein translation through recruitment of the initiation factor eIF4G2 and the m6A reader YTHDF3.4 Altered m6A modifications in messenger RNAs (mRNAs) are widely linked with numerous human diseases.1,4 In addition, m6A modification pathways have also emerged as contributors to circRNA immunity, and exogenous circRNAs potently stimulate immune signaling.5

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  1. BRULAC-DRC, Saveetha Dental College and Hospital, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences [SIMATS], Saveetha University, Chennai, India

    Arumugam Paramasivam & Jayaseelan Vijayashree Priyadharsini

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  1. Arumugam Paramasivam
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  2. Jayaseelan Vijayashree Priyadharsini
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Correspondence to Arumugam Paramasivam.

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Paramasivam, A., Vijayashree Priyadharsini, J. Novel insights into m6A modification in circular RNA and implications for immunity. Cell Mol Immunol 17, 668–669 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41423-020-0387-x

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