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Journal of Hematology & Oncology
Published in: Journal of Hematology & Oncology 1/2020

01-12-2020 | Metastasis | Review

Emerging role of RNA methyltransferase METTL3 in gastrointestinal cancer

Authors: Qiang Wang, Wei Geng, Huimin Guo, Zhangding Wang, Kaiyue Xu, Chen Chen, Shouyu Wang

Published in: Journal of Hematology & Oncology | Issue 1/2020

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Abstract

Gastrointestinal cancer, the most common solid tumor, has a poor prognosis. With the development of high-throughput sequencing and detection technology, recent studies have suggested that many chemical modifications of human RNA are involved in the development of human diseases, including cancer. m6A, the most abundant modification, was revealed to participate in a series of aspects of cancer progression. Recent evidence has shown that methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3), the first identified and a critical methyltransferase, catalyzes m6A methylation on mRNA or non-coding RNA in mammals, affecting RNA metabolism. Abnormal m6A levels caused by METTL3 have been reported to be involved in different aspects of cancer development, including proliferation, apoptosis, and metastasis. In this review, we will shed light on recent findings regarding the biological function of METTL3 in gastrointestinal cancer and discuss future research directions and potential clinical applications of METTL3 for gastrointestinal cancer.
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Metadata
Title
Emerging role of RNA methyltransferase METTL3 in gastrointestinal cancer
Authors
Qiang Wang
Wei Geng
Huimin Guo
Zhangding Wang
Kaiyue Xu
Chen Chen
Shouyu Wang
Publication date
01-12-2020
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Journal of Hematology & Oncology / Issue 1/2020
Electronic ISSN: 1756-8722
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13045-020-00895-1

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