N 6 -methyladenosine (m6A) methylation is associated with immune microenvironments in acute intracerebral haemorrhage(ICH)

Abstract Recently, researchers have found that N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is a kind of internal posttranscriptional modification that is very pivotal in mammalian mRNA. However, the features of m6A RNA methylation in acute intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) are still not known. To explore differential methylation modifications and to discover their functions in acute ICH patients. We recruited three acute ICH patients, three healthy controls and an additional three patients and healthy controls for validation. m6A methylation levels were determined by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadruple mass spectrometry (UPLC-QQQ-MS) in blood samples from the two groups. Methylated RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing (MeRIP-seq) was employed to identify differences in m6A modification. Differentially expressed m6A-modified genes were confirmed by MeRIP-qPCR. We found that there were no significant differences in total m6A levels between the two groups. However, we observed differential methylation peaks. Compared with the control group, the coding genes showing increased methylation following acute ICH were mostly harboured in processes connected with osteoclast differentiation, the neurotrophin signalling pathway and the spliceosome, while genes with reduced m6A modification were harboured in the B-cell receptor signalling pathway and the T-cell receptor signalling pathway. These results reveal that differentially m6A-modified genes may influence immune microenvironments in acute ICH.