Yanlu Wang, Sisi Ling, Hao Feng, Junkai Hua, Zhiyu Han, Renjie Chai

Department of Cardiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, 510260, People’s Republic of China

Correspondence: Renjie Chai, Email ChaiRenjie11@163.com

Abstract: Atherosclerosis, a progressive inflammatory disease of the arteries, remains a leading cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality worldwide. Recent years have witnessed the pivotal role of N6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA methylation in regulating various biological processes, including those implicated in atherosclerosis. Current evidence suggested that m6A regulators (writers, erasers, and readers) participated in the modification of multiple non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), including microRNAs (miRNAs), long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), and circular RNAs (circRNAs), thereby affecting their metabolism and functions. Meanwhile, ncRNAs have also emerged as key modulator of m6A regulators expression in turn. Therefore, understanding the mutual regulation between m6A modifications and ncRNAs is of great significance to identify novel therapeutic targets for atherosclerosis and has great clinical application prospects. This review aims to summarize the recent advances in the reciprocal regulation and provide insights into the interaction between m6A modification and ncRNAs in the context of atherosclerosis.

Keywords: N6-methyladenosine (m6A), non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), mutual regulation, atherosclerosis, epigenetics