The role of mA RNA methylation in human cancer.

N-methyladenosine (mA) is identified as the most common, abundant and conserved internal transcriptional modification, especially within eukaryotic messenger RNAs (mRNAs). MA modification is installed by the mA methyltransferases (METTL3/14, WTAP, RBM15/15B and KIAA1429, termed as "writers"), reverted by the demethylases (FTO and ALKBH5, termed as "erasers") and recognized by mA binding proteins (YTHDF1/2/3, IGF2BP1 and HNRNPA2B1, termed as "readers"). Acumulating evidence shows that, mA RNA methylation has an outsize effect on RNA production/metabolism and participates in the pathogenesis of multiple diseases including cancers. Until now, the molecular mechanisms underlying mA RNA methylation in various tumors have not been comprehensively clarified. In this review, we mainly summarize the recent advances in biological function of mA modifications in human cancer and discuss the potential therapeutic strategies.