N6-Methyladenosine Methylation of mRNA in Cell Apoptosis.

Apoptosis, a highly controlled homeostatic mechanism that eliminates single cells without destroying tissue function, occurs during growing development and senescence. N6-methyladenosine (mA), as the most common internal modification of eukaryotic mRNA, fine-tunes gene expression by regulating many aspects of mRNA metabolism, such as splicing, nucleation, stability, translation, and degradation. Remarkably, recent reports have indicated that aberrant methylation of mA-related RNA may directly or indirectly influence the expression of apoptosis-related genes, thus regulating the process of cell apoptosis. In this review, we summarized the relationship between mA modification and cell apoptosis, especially its role in the nervous system, and analyzed the limitations of the current research.