Effects Which M6A RNA Methylation Regulation Exerts on the Prognosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Abstract

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) ,which has been known as the most common subtype in the range of primary liver cancer . Besides, it hails as one of China ’s common cancers , giving rise to the major cancer death cause in men. N6 methyladenosine (m6A) RNA methylation is under the regulation of m6A RNA methylation regulators in dynamic way (the proteins of "writer" "eraser"; "reader"). More and more evidences show that the m6A modification level is connected with self-renewal of tumor stem cells, the growth, proliferation, anti chemotherapy and radiosensitivity of tumor cells. The relationship between m6A RNA and human cancer types has been confirmed in a variety of cancers. This research aims to investigate the relationship betwixt m6A RNA methylation regulators and liver cancer. Methods: firstly, the comparison of the expression levels harbored by 13 major m6A RNA methylation regulators in liver cancer with normal tissues was conducted by means of the data of TCGA database. Secondly, we cluster the presentation data of m6A RNA methylated regulator uniformly and dissect HCC tissue into two subgroups (group 1 and 2) by comparing these subgroups according to the overall survival rate (OS), WHO phase and pathological level . Thirdly, based on the combination of least absolute contraction with selection operator (lasso) regression, the risk characteristics of m6A RNA methylation regulators was constructed , which affected OS in TCGA analysis. Results: there were significant differences in the presentation degrades held by 12 major m6A RNA methylation regulators in liver cancers and normal tissues. The primary liver cancer was divided into 1 and 2 groups. It was found that the OS of 1 subgroup was poor, the WHO stage was high and the pathological grade was high. In TCGA analysis, five m6A methylation regulators (YTHDF1, ZC3H13, YTHDF2, METTL3 and KIAA1429) were selected to affect OS, and a risk marker significantly related to who staging was constructed, which was also an independent prognostic marker of OS. Conclusion: m6A RNA methylation regulator is a key player in the progression of HCC and has potential value in the prediction and treatment of HCC.