High-throughput microarray reveals the epitranscriptome-wide landscape of m6A-modified circRNA in oral squamous cell carcinoma
Wei Zhao, Jingwen Liu, Jie Wu, Xiaozhou Ma, Xi Wang, Leyu Zhang, Zhe Han, Jianming Yang, Yameng Cui, Xin Hu, Jiayin Deng
Abstract
Abstract Background Emerging transcriptome-wide high-throughput screenings reveal the landscape and functions of RNAs, such as circular RNAs (circRNAs), in human cancer. In addition, the post-transcriptional RNA internal modifications, especially N 6 -methyladenosine (m 6 A), greatly enrich the variety of RNAs metabolism. However, the m 6 A modification on circRNAs has yet to be addressed. Results Here, we report an epitranscriptome-wide mapping of m 6 A-modified circRNAs (m 6 A-circRNA) in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Utilizing the data of m 6 A methylated RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing (MeRIP-seq) and m 6 A-circRNAs microarray, we found that m 6 A-circRNAs exhibited particular modification styles in OSCC, which was independent of m 6 A-mRNA. Besides, m 6 A modification on circRNAs frequently occurred on the long exons in the front part of the coding sequence (CDS), which was distinct from m 6 A-mRNA that in 3’-UTR or stop codon. Conclusion In conclusion, our work preliminarily demonstrates the traits of m 6 A-circRNAs, which may bring enlighten for the roles of m 6 A-circRNAs in OSCC.