The landscape of N<sup>6</sup>-methyladenosine in localized primary prostate cancer.

Abstract

N<sup>6</sup>-methyladenosine (m<sup>6</sup>A), the most abundant internal RNA modification in humans, regulates most aspects of RNA processing. Prostate cancer is characterized by widespread transcriptomic dysregulation; therefore, we characterized the m<sup>6</sup>A landscape of 162 localized prostate tumors with matched DNA, RNA and protein profiling. m<sup>6</sup>A abundance varied dramatically across tumors, with global patterns emerging via complex germline-somatic cooperative regulation. Individual germline polymorphisms regulated m<sup>6</sup>A abundance, cooperating with somatic mutation of cancer driver genes and m<sup>6</sup>A regulators. The resulting complex patterns were associated with prognostic clinical features and established the biomarker potential of global and locus-specific m<sup>6</sup>A patterns. Tumor hypoxia dysregulates m<sup>6</sup>A profiles, bridging prior genomic and proteomic observations. Specific m<sup>6</sup>A sites, such as those in VCAN, drive disease aggression, associating with poor outcomes, tumor growth and metastasis. m<sup>6</sup>A dysregulation is thus associated with key events in the natural history of prostate cancer: germline risk, microenvironmental dysregulation, somatic mutation and metastasis.

EDRN PI Authors
  • (None specified)
Medline Author List
  • Arbet J
  • Bergeron A
  • Berlin A
  • Boutros PC
  • Bristow RG
  • Chen S
  • Chen W
  • Ci X
  • Eng S
  • Fleshner NE
  • Fradet Y
  • Gao T
  • Guo WY
  • He C
  • He HH
  • Houlahan KE
  • Hovington H
  • Hugh-White R
  • Koritzinsky M
  • Lacombe L
  • Leong H
  • Liu S
  • Livingstone J
  • Luo W
  • Lupien M
  • Orain M
  • Pajdzik K
  • Picard V
  • Shao Y
  • Sheng M
  • Song Y
  • Têtu B
  • Wang M
  • Wang S
  • Wang Y
  • Wei GH
  • Wu X
  • Xu K
  • Xu W
  • Xu X
  • Xu X
  • Zeltser N
  • Zeng Y
  • Zhu G
  • Zhu H
  • van der Kwast T
PubMed ID
Appears In
Nat Genet, 2025 Apr (issue 4)