N6-methyladenosine (m~6A) methylation is a type of methylation modification on RNA molecules, which was first discovered in 1974, and has become a hot topic in life science in recent years. m~6A modification is an epigenetic regulation similar to DNA and histone modification and is dynamically reversible in mammalian cells. This chemical marker of RNA is produced by m~6A 'writers' (methylase) and can be degraded by m~6A 'erasers' (demethylase). Methylated reading protein is the 'reader', that can recognize the mRNA containing m~6A and regulate the expression of downstream genes accordingly. m~6A methylation is involved in all stages of the RNA life cycle, including RNA processing, nuclear export, translation and regulation of RNA degradation, indicating that m~6A plays a crucial role in RNA metabolism. Recent studies have shown that m~6A modification is a complicated regulatory network in different cell lines, tissues and spatio-temporal models, and m~6A methylation is associated with the occurrence and development of tumors. The present review describes the regulatory mechanism and physiological functions of m~6A methylation, and its research progress in several types of human tumor, to provide novel approaches for early diagnosis and targeted treatment of cancer.
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