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Recent reports suggest dysregulation of the N6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA modification may contribute to the pathology of neurodegenerative diseases. Herein, we show the m6A methyltransferase complex including METTL3-the catalytic component of the nuclear-localized complex-is robustly upregulated in human microglia and astrocytes exposed to αSyn and Mn. Subcellular localization studies reveal METTL3 was predominantly cytoplasmic following Mn insult but remained nuclear following αSyn stimulation in activated microglia. Functional analysis revealed METTL3 and downstream m6A readers, including YTHDF2 and IGF2BP1-3, may regulate the proinflammatory secretome of activated microglia. Notably, methyltransferase activity and m6A abundance were significantly increased following Mn and αSyn treatment. METTL3 in Mn and αSynin vivo models of neuroinflammation, along with human postmortem tissues from Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) patients, was significantly upregulated. This was further confirmed by single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) analysis. Overall, we demonstrate the m6A writer METTL3 may function as a major regulator of chronic neuroinflammation in synucleinopathies.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2025.115618 | DOI Listing |
Nat Struct Mol Biol
September 2025
Developmental Epigenetics, Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
X-chromosome inactivation (XCI) in mammals is orchestrated by the noncoding RNA X-inactive-specific transcript (Xist) that, together with specific interacting proteins, functions in cis to silence an entire X chromosome. Defined sites on Xist RNA carry the N-methyladenosine (mA) modification and perturbation of the mA writer complex has been found to abrogate Xist-mediated gene silencing. However, the relative contribution of mA and its mechanism of action remain unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPost-transcriptional RNA modifications, such as N6-methyladenosine (m6A) methylation and adenosine to inosine (A-to-I) editing, are critical regulators of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) self-renewal and differentiation, yet their precise contributions to malignant transformation are not fully elucidated. In this study, we uncovered the epitranscriptomic landscape caused by knockdown of genes from the methyltransferase (METTL)-family in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). We identified both converging and distinct roles of METTL3 and METTL14, known members of the m6A writer complex, as well as orphan gene METTL13.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPeerJ
September 2025
Changzhou Hospital of Chinese Medicine Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Changzhou, China.
Background: Kidney disease is a major global health issue, causing numerous deaths and a loss of life years. This prompts us to explore potential targets or mechanisms that may increase the likelihood of diagnosing and treating kidney diseases. N6-methyladenosine (mA) modifications dynamically regulate RNA through "writer" enzymes, "eraser" enzymes, and "reader" proteins, influencing its processing, stability, and translation efficiency.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFbioRxiv
August 2025
Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School Boston, MA, USA.
N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most prevalent internal mRNA modification, enriched in the CNS yet poorly characterized in glioma. Using long-read RNA sequencing, we mapped m6A in an glioma model following knockdown (KD) of the reader IGF2BP2, writer METTL3, and eraser ALKBH5, with naive glioma cells and astrocytes as controls. Glioma cells exhibited a two-fold reduction in global m6A, suggesting progressive loss from healthy to malignant states.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProtein Sci
September 2025
Department of Biochemistry, University of California, Riverside, California, USA.
N6-adenine (6mA) DNA methylation plays an important role in gene regulation and genome stability. The 6mA methylation in Tetrahymena thermophila is mainly mediated by the AMT complex, comprised of the AMT1, AMT7, AMTP1, and AMTP2 subunits. To date, how this complex assembles on the DNA substrate remains elusive.
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