m(6)A: An Emerging Role in Programmed Cell Death

Programmed cell death is an active extinction process, including autophagy, ferroptosis, pyroptosis, apoptosis, and necroptosis. m(6)A is a reversible RNA modification which undergoes methylation under the action of methylases (writers), and is demethylated under the action of demethylases (erasers). The RNA base site at which m(6)A is modified is recognized by specialized enzymes (readers) which regulate downstream RNA translation, decay, and stability. m(6)A affects many aspects of mRNA metabolism, and also plays an important role in promoting the maturation of miRNA, the translation and degradation of circRNA, and the stability of lncRNA. The regulatory factors including writers, erasers and readers promote or inhibit programmed cell death via up-regulating or down-regulating downstream targets in a m(6)A-dependent manner to participate in the process of disease. In this review, we summarize the functions of m(6)A with particular reference to its role in programmed cell death.