m6A RNA Methylation in Cardiovascular Diseases

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain the leading cause of death and disability worldwide, despite marked improvements in prevention, diagnosis, and early intervention. There is an urgent need to discover more effective therapeutic strategies, which would be facilitated by a more in-depth understanding of CVDs and their underlying molecular mechanisms. Recent advances in knowledge about epigenetic mechanisms, especially RNA methylation, have revealed a close relationship between epigenetic modifications and CVDs and have brought to potential novel targets for diagnosis and treatment. Here, we provide a review of recent studies exploring RNA N-6-methyladenosine (m(6)A) modification, with particular emphasis on its role in CVDs, such as coronary heart disease, hypertension, cardiac hypertrophy, and heart failure. We also introduce the "life cycle" of m(6)A and its dominant function in several biological processes. Finally, we highlight the prospects of treatment based on interfering with m(6)A, which could have a transformative effect on clinical medicine.