Role of RNA modifications in cancer

• Published in: Nature reviews. Cancer Vol. 20; no. 6; pp. 303 - 322
• Main Authors: Barbieri, Isaia, Kouzarides, Tony
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.06.2020; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 631/337/1645/2570; 631/67/1059; 631/67/68/2486; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Cancer; Cancer Research; Cancer therapies; Care and treatment; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; Enzymes; Epigenesis, Genetic - genetics; Epigenesis, Genetic - physiology; Health aspects; Humans; Molecular Targeted Therapy; mRNA; Neoplasms - drug therapy; Neoplasms - genetics; Neoplasms - metabolism; Non-coding RNA; Review Article; RNA; RNA - genetics; RNA - metabolism; RNA modification; RNA Processing, Post-Transcriptional - genetics; RNA Processing, Post-Transcriptional - physiology; RNA, Messenger - genetics; RNA, Messenger - metabolism; rRNA; Signal transduction; Transcription; Transfer RNA; United Kingdom
• ISSN: 1474-175X; 1474-1768; 1474-1768
• DOI: 10.1038/s41568-020-0253-2

Specific chemical modifications of biological molecules are an efficient way of regulating molecular function, and a plethora of downstream signalling pathways are influenced by the modification of DNA and proteins. Many of the enzymes responsible for regulating protein and DNA modifications are targets of current cancer therapies. RNA epitranscriptomics, the study of RNA modifications, is the new frontier of this arena. Despite being known since the 1970s, eukaryotic RNA modifications were mostly identified on transfer RNA and ribosomal RNA until the last decade, when they have been identified and characterized on mRNA and various non-coding RNAs. Increasing evidence suggests that RNA modification pathways are also misregulated in human cancers and may be ideal targets of cancer therapy. In this Review we highlight the RNA epitranscriptomic pathways implicated in cancer, describing their biological functions and their connections to the disease. After synthesis, all RNA molecules are subject to covalent modifications. This Review presents the evidence that RNA modification pathways are misregulated in cancer and suggests that they may be ideal targets for cancer therapy.