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REVIEW article

Front. Drug Discov.
Sec. Anti-Cancer Drugs
Volume 4 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fddsv.2024.1465222
This article is part of the Research Topic Exploring Drug Development With Single Cell Omics Analytics and Stem Cell-Based Disease Models View all articles

Combating Cancer Stem Cells: RNA m 6 A Methylation and Small-Molecule Drug Discovery

Provisionally accepted
Honghai Zhang Honghai Zhang 1Xueer Wang Xueer Wang 1Jianjun Chen Jianjun Chen 1,2,3Rui Su Rui Su 1,2*
  • 1 Department of Systems Biology, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Monrovia, United States
  • 2 City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, City of Hope, Duarte, United States
  • 3 Gehr Family Center for Leukemia Research, City of Hope, Duarte, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a small population of less differentiated cells with robust self-renewal ability. CSCs have been recognized as the root cause of tumor initiation, progression, relapse, and drug resistance. Recent studies from us and others have highlighted that N 6 -methyladenosine (m 6 A), the most prevalent modification in mRNA, plays a crucial role in carcinogenesis and CSC homeostasis. Dysregulation of the m 6 A modification machinery has been implicated in CSC survival and self-renewal, thereby regulating cancer progression and therapeutic resistance. In this review, we provide an overview of the roles and molecular mechanisms of the RNA m 6 A modification machinery in CSC survival and self-renewal. Additionally, we summarize the currently known small-molecule inhibitors targeting the dysregulated m 6 A modification machinery and discuss proof-of-concept studies focusing on the efficacy of these compounds in eliminating CSCs and cancers.

    Keywords: N 6 -methyladenosine (m 6 A), RNA methylation, methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3), METTL14, Fat mass and obesity associated (FTO), alkB homolog 5 (ALKBH5), cancer stem cells (CSCs), self-renewal

    Received: 15 Jul 2024; Accepted: 17 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zhang, Wang, Chen and Su. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Rui Su, Department of Systems Biology, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Monrovia, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.