Project description:We investigated the role of RNA N6-adenosine methyltransferase protein METTL14 that supports breast cancer growth and progression, and we showed METTL14 knockdown inhibited long-term survival, migration as well as invasion of breast cancer cells.
Project description:The N6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA modification is an important regulator of gene expression. m6A is deposited by a methyltransferase complex that includes methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3) and methyltransferase-like 14 (METTL14). High levels of METTL3 and METTL14 drive the growth of many types of adult cancer, and METTL3/METTL14 inhibitors are emerging as new anticancer agents. However, little is known about the m6A epitranscriptome or the role of the METTL3/METTL14 complex in neuroblastoma, a common pediatric cancer. Here, we show that METTL3 knockdown or pharmacologic inhibition with the small molecule STM2457 leads to reduced neuroblastoma cell proliferation and increased differentiation. These changes in neuroblastoma phenotype were associated with decreased m6A deposition on transcripts involved in nervous system development and neuronal differentiation and increased stability and expression of target mRNAs. In preclinical studies, STM2457 treatment suppressed the growth of neuroblastoma tumors in vivo. Together, these results support the potential of METTL3/METTL14 complex inhibition as therapeutic strategy against neuroblastoma.
Project description:The N6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA modification is an important regulator of gene expression. m6A is deposited by a methyltransferase complex that includes methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3) and methyltransferase-like 14 (METTL14). High levels of METTL3 and METTL14 drive the growth of many types of adult cancer, and METTL3/METTL14 inhibitors are emerging as new anticancer agents. However, little is known about the m6A epitranscriptome or the role of the METTL3/METTL14 complex in neuroblastoma, a common pediatric cancer. Here, we show that METTL3 knockdown or pharmacologic inhibition with the small molecule STM2457 leads to reduced neuroblastoma cell proliferation and increased differentiation. These changes in neuroblastoma phenotype were associated with decreased m6A deposition on transcripts involved in nervous system development and neuronal differentiation and increased stability and expression of target mRNAs. In preclinical studies, STM2457 treatment suppressed the growth of neuroblastoma tumors in vivo. Together, these results support the potential of METTL3/METTL14 complex inhibition as therapeutic strategy against neuroblastoma.
Project description:The N6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA modification is an important regulator of gene expression. m6A is deposited by a methyltransferase complex that includes methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3) and methyltransferase-like 14 (METTL14). High levels of METTL3 and METTL14 drive the growth of many types of adult cancer, and METTL3/METTL14 inhibitors are emerging as new anticancer agents. However, little is known about the m6A epitranscriptome or the role of the METTL3/METTL14 complex in neuroblastoma, a common pediatric cancer. Here, we show that METTL3 knockdown or pharmacologic inhibition with the small molecule STM2457 leads to reduced neuroblastoma cell proliferation and increased differentiation. These changes in neuroblastoma phenotype were associated with decreased m6A deposition on transcripts involved in nervous system development and neuronal differentiation and increased stability and expression of target mRNAs. In preclinical studies, STM2457 treatment suppressed the growth of neuroblastoma tumors in vivo. Together, these results support the potential of METTL3/METTL14 complex inhibition as therapeutic strategy against neuroblastoma.
Project description:The N6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA modification is an important regulator of gene expression. m6A is deposited by a methyltransferase complex that includes methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3) and methyltransferase-like 14 (METTL14). High levels of METTL3 and METTL14 drive the growth of many types of adult cancer, and METTL3/METTL14 inhibitors are emerging as new anticancer agents. However, little is known about the m6A epitranscriptome or the role of the METTL3/METTL14 complex in neuroblastoma, a common pediatric cancer. Here, we show that METTL3 knockdown or pharmacologic inhibition with the small molecule STM2457 leads to reduced neuroblastoma cell proliferation and increased differentiation. These changes in neuroblastoma phenotype were associated with decreased m6A deposition on transcripts involved in nervous system development and neuronal differentiation and increased stability and expression of target mRNAs. In preclinical studies, STM2457 treatment suppressed the growth of neuroblastoma tumors in vivo. Together, these results support the potential of METTL3/METTL14 complex inhibition as therapeutic strategy against neuroblastoma.
Project description:Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) can dampen the antitumor activity of T cells, yet the underlying mechanism remains incompletely understood. Here, we show that C1q+ TAMs are regulated by an RNA N6-methyladenosine (m6A) program and modulate tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells by expressing multiple immunomodulatory ligands. Macrophage-specific knockout of an m6A methyltransferase Mettl14 drives CD8+ T cell differentiation along a dysfunctional trajectory, impairing CD8+ T cells to eliminate tumors. Mettl14-deficient C1q+ TAMs show a decreased m6A abundance on and a higher level of transcripts of Ebi3, a cytokine subunit. In addition, neutralization of EBI3 leads to reinvigoration of dysfunctional CD8+ T cells and overcomes immunosuppressive impact in mice. We show that the METTL14-m6A levels are negatively correlated with dysfunctional T cell levels in patients with colorectal cancer, supporting the clinical relevance of this regulatory pathway. Thus, our study demonstrates how an m6A methyltransferase in TAMs promotes CD8+ T cell dysfunction and tumor progression.
Project description:The N6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA modification serves crucial functions in RNA metabolism; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying the regulation of m6A are not well understood. Here, we establish arginine methylation of METTL14, a component of the m6A methyltransferase complex, as a novel pathway that controls the function of m6A in DNA repair. Specifically, protein arginine methyltransferase 1 (PRMT1) interacts with and methylates the intrinsically disordered C-terminus of METTL14, which promotes its interaction with RNA substrates, enhances its RNA methylation activity, and is crucial for its interaction with RNAPII. Mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) expressing arginine methylation-deficient METTL14 exhibit dramatically reduced global m6A levels. Transcriptome-wide m6A analysis reveals that arginine methylation-dependent m6A enhances the translation of genes essential for the repair of DNA interstrand crosslinks; thus, METTL14 arginine methylation-deficient mESCs are hypersensitive to DNA crosslinking agents. Collectively, these findings reveal important aspects of m6A regulation that could have broad implications in normal development and in diseases such as cancer.