Regulatory Role of N6-methyladenosine (m6A) Methylation in RNA Processing and Human Diseases

N-6-methyladenosine (m(6)A) modification is an abundant and conservative RNA modification in bacterial and eukaryotic cells. m(6)A modification mainly occurs in the 3 untranslated regions (UTRs) and near the stop codons of mRNA. Diverse strategies have been developed for identifying m(6)A sites in single nucleotide resolution. Dynamic regulation of m(6)A is found in metabolism, embryogenesis, and developmental processes, indicating a possible epigenetic regulation role along RNA processing and exerting biological functions. It has been known that m(6)A editing involves in nuclear RNA export, mRNA degradation, protein translation, and RNA splicing. Deficiency of m(6)A modification will lead to kinds of diseases, such as obesity, cancer, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), infertility, and developmental arrest. Some specific inhibitors against methyltransferase and demethylase have been developed to selectively regulate m(6)A modification, which may be advantageous for treatment of m(6)A related diseases. (c) 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.