Project description:This project investigates the role METTL8 in human glioblastoma stem cells. In order to understand the transcriptomic changes upon deletion of METTL8, we performed this RNA seq and further downstream analyses to determine the pathways changed. From this, we hope to identify novel methods to target glioblastoma stem cells via manipulation of METTL8.
Project description:This project investigates the role METTL8 in human glioblastoma stem cells. In order to understand the transcriptomic changes upon deletion of METTL8, we performed this ChIP-seq and further downstream analyses. From this, we hope to identify novel methods to target glioblastoma stem cells via manipulation of METTL8.
Project description:Increasing evidence implicates critical roles of various epitranscriptomic RNA modifications in different biological processes. Methyltransferase METTL8 installs 3-methylcytosine modification of mitochondrial tRNAs in vitro, however, its role in intact biological systems is completely unknown. Here we show that Mettl8 is localized in the mitochondria and installs m3C in mitochondrial tRNASer(UCN)/Thr in mouse embryonic cortical neural stem cells. At molecular and cellular levels, Mettl8 deletion in cortical neural stem cells leads to reduced mitochondrial protein translation and attenuated respiration activity. At the functional level, conditional Mettl8 deletion in mice results in impaired embryonic cortical neural stem cell maintenance in vivo, which can be rescued by pharmacologically enhancing mitochondrial functions. Similarly, METTL8 regulates mitochondrial protein expression and neural stem cell maintenance in human forebrain cortical organoids. Together, our study reveals a conserved epitranscriptomic mechanism of Mettl8 and mitochondrial tRNA m3C modification in maintaining embryonic cortical neural stem cells in mice and humans.