2023, Vol. 27 ›› Issue (10): 1584-1592

Progress in studies on biological properties of stem cells modified by mRNA m6A methylation

Han Weiyu, Zhao Yongchao, Zhao Ranzun   

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Stem cells have the potential of self-renewal and pluripotent directional differentiation, which are necessary for the body to maintain physiological functions, and play an important role in the occurrence and development of various diseases, disease treatment and organ transplantation. Recent studies have found that m6A methylation modification can regulate the biological characteristics of stem cells and play an important role in various diseases.  
OBJECTIVE: To mainly summarize the latest research progress of biological process of m6A methylation modification of stem cells, including self-renewal, directional differentiation, and immunological characteristics.
METHODS: Related articles published from 1955 to 2022 were retrieve from PubMed, Web of Science and CNKI databases. The keywords were “stem cell, m6A, RNA methylation, biological characteristics, self-renewal, proliferation, differentiation, immunization” in English and Chinese. Ultimately, we included 88 articles for review.  
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: m6A, as the epigenetic modification with the highest abundance in eukaryotic mRNA, is also the focus of current epigenetic research. It is composed of methyltransferase, demethylase and methyl-binding domain protein, and has become an important transcriptome marker. The conclusions of m6A methylation regulate the biological characteristics as following: (1) m6A methylation modification can be adjusted by related enzymes target transformation, proliferation, cell cycle-related molecular transcription after translation, the expression of key enzymes in the process of DNA replication, to a particular cell differentiation, immune checkpoint molecular expression and their sensitivity to radiation and chemotherapy drugs, and in the treatment of malignant disease, delay condition, improve the prognosis of playing a key role. (2) m6A-related enzymes are closely related to the biological characteristics of stem cell proliferation, self-renewal, directed differentiation and immune regulation, and can be used as a target for drug therapy. (3) The study of m6A methylation on human diseases is still in the basic research stage, and the mechanism of m6A modification in some malignant diseases has not been thoroughly explored. With the development of epigenetics, RNA m6A modification is expected to achieve new breakthroughs in the treatment of malignant diseases and clinical transformation.
Key words: m6A, epigenetic inheritance, stem cell, self-renewal, directional differentiation, immunological property, transcriptome marker, review