METTL14 suppresses cancer stem cell phenotype of colorectal cancer via regulating of β-catenin/NANOG

Cancer stem cell (CSC) characteristic contributes to tumor malignancy and progression. The role of N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification in CSC characteristic is largely unknown. In this study, we found that m6A methyltransferase METTL14 was downregulated in colorectal cancer (CRC) and negatively correlated with the poor prognosis of CRC patients. Overexpression of METTL14 inhibited CSC characteristic, while knockdown of METTL14 promoted this characteristic. Through screening, NANOG was identified as the downstream of METTL14. Mechanically, we demonstrated that METTL14 inhibited cancer stem cell characteristic by regulating β-catenin. Collectively, our findings suggested that METTL16/β-catenin /NANOG axis might be promising therapeutic targets for CRC.