What is RNA methylation?
RNA methylation is an epigenetic modification in which methyl groups are added to particular nucleotides within the RNA strand without altering the gene sequence. This modification thereby exerts regulatory control over their functionality. Protein regulators of RNA methylation include “writers” (methyltransferases), “erasers” (demethylases), and “readers” (binding proteins), enzymes which deposit, remove, and recognize methylated RNA, respectively. Among the prevalent RNA methylation modifications, N6-methyladenosine (m6A), 5-methylcytosine (m5C), N1-methyladenosine (m1A) and N7-methylguanosine (m7G) stand out, with m6A being the most prevalent and thoroughly investigated (Table 1).
Table 1. Regulatory proteins of four major RNA methylation modifications.
¹ QKI isoforms recognize internal mRNA m7G (Zhao et al., Cell 2023; PMID 37379838).
² TET enzymes and ALKBH1 oxidize m5C (to hm5C/f5C) rather than removing the methyl group directly.
³ Decapping enzymes (DCP2, DcpS) remove the m7G cap structure but do not demethylate m7G; no internal m7G demethylase has been reported.
Role of RNA Methylation
The development of sequencing technology has clarified the pivotal role of RNA modifications in the epigenetic regulation of post-transcriptional gene expression. m6A has been found to affect oocyte maturation and embryonic development as well as the tumorigenic process, including tumor proliferation, invasion, and metastasis by modulating oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. m5C-related proteins have been identified as participants in embryonic development, plant growth, and neural stem cell differentiation. m1A is also known to be involved in these developmental processes. m7G dysregulation is linked to neurodevelopmental disorders and neurodegenerative diseases.
RNA methylation signatures, particularly m6A, m5C, m1A and m7G, have been suggested as diagnostic and therapeutic targets for various diseases. Despite advances in the structure and pharmacology of RNA methylation regulation that have improved drug discovery, regulating these proteins by various post-translational modifications has received little attention. Therefore, the field of RNA methylation is only in its infancy.
DNA Methylation Detection
DNA methylation is an epigenetic modification by which methyl groups are added to the DNA molecule, primarily at cytosine residues. This modification can have significant alterations on gene expression. For example, when located within a gene promoter, DNA methylation typically acts to repress gene transcription.
Methylation-specific PCR (MSP) is the most commonly used method for gene/sequence-specific detection of DNA methylation for research and clinical applications. Focusing on this method, we offer services using magnetic beads for nucleic acid extraction from urine exosomes, peripheral blood, cells, serum and plasma. Magnetic beads are also used in our DNA bisulfite conversion service to convert unmethylated cytosine residues into uracil for gene methylation analysis in genomic DNA .
