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REVIEW article

Front. Immunol.
Sec. Molecular Innate Immunity
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1458884

Role of N6-methyladenosine methylation in head and neck cancer and its regulation of innate immune pathways

Provisionally accepted
Luhong Cao Luhong Cao 1Guixiang Huang Guixiang Huang 2Fan Jiangang Fan Jiangang 1Xingren Liu Xingren Liu 3Zhiyue Ma Zhiyue Ma 1*
  • 1 Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
  • 2 Emergency Surgery, Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China, Chengdu, China
  • 3 Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China

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

    N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is considered the most prevalent methylation modification in messenger RNA (mRNA) that critically impacts head and neck cancer (HNC) pathogenesis and development. Alterations of m6A methylation related proteins are closely related to the progression, therapeutic effect, and prognosis of HNC. The human innate immune system activates immune pathways through pattern recognition receptors, which can not only resist pathogen infection, but also play a vital role in tumor immunity. Emerging evidence has confirmed that m6A methylation affects the activation of innate immune pathways such as TLR, cGAS-STING, and NLR by regulating RNA metabolism, revealing its potential mechanisms in the innate immune response of tumor cells. However, the relevant research is still in its infancy. This review elaborates the biological significance of RNA m6A methylation in HNC and discusses its potential regulatory relationship with TLR, cGAS-STING, and NLR pathways, providing a new perspective for in-depth understanding of the role of RNA methylation in the innate immune mechanism and therapeutic application of HNC.

    Keywords: m6A methylation, TLR, cGAS-STING, NLR, innate immune, head and neck cancer

    Received: 04 Jul 2024; Accepted: 09 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Cao, Huang, Jiangang, Liu and Ma. 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: Zhiyue Ma, Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China

    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.