The Role of N6-Methyladenosine (m6A) Methylation in the Development and Progression of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma
Mohammed Radef Dawood *
Otolaryngology Department, College of Medicine, Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Aims: to investigate the correlation between m6A methylation and clinical characters of NPC patients, as well as, it`s development and progression, because N6-methyladenosine (m6A) methylation was a post-transcriptional modification that regulates gene expression, and had been implicated in various cancers. However, its role in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) remains poorly understood.
Study Design: A cross-sectional study.
Place and Duration of Study: Otolaryngology department, University hospital between January 2004 and January 2025.
Methodology: Sample: included 22 patients (14 males, and 8 females, age range 35-70 years) diagnosed with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), who underwent biopsy. Clinical data, including; age, gender, tumor stage, and metastasis status were collected from medical records. The tumor and adjacent normal tissues were obtained for analysis. The m6A methylation status of key genes was assessed using quantitative polymerase chain reaction via reverse-transcription quantitative (RT-qPCR), and methylation-specific sequencing.
Results: A significantly higher m6A methylation level in NPC tumor tissues (72.3%), compared to adjacent normal tissues (27.3%), with significant association (p = 0.03), with higher level in ( NPC stage III/IV), and with distant metastasis (p = 0.02), yet, no significant correlation with age and gender (p > 0.05), expression levels of key m6A methylation-related regulators METTL3 and METTL14 were significantly upregulated in malignant versus un-affected tissues (p < 0.05), while, FTO downregulated in tumor tissues, without statistical significance (p > 0.05).
Conclusions: A significantly higher m6A methylation level in malignant tissues in comparison to adjacent normal tissues, so it’s a crucial part in NPC and could works for a possible management objective and diagnostic biomarker in early detection and treatment.
Keywords: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma, N6-methyladenosine, RNA modification