m6A regulator-mediated methylation modification patterns and tumor microenvironment infiltration characterization in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: There is increasing evidence of the epigenetic regulation of the immune response in cancer. However, the specific functions and mechanisms of RNA N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification in the cell infiltration in the hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tumor microenvironment (TME) is unknown.

Methods: We systematically analyzed the m6A-modification patterns of 371 HCC samples based on 23 m6A regulators, and determined their correlation with TME cell-infiltrating characteristics.