Among myriads of distinct chemical modification in RNAs, the dynamic, reversible and fine-tuned methylation of
N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most prevalent modification in eukaryotic mRNAs. This
RNA mark is generated by
proteins that act as
m6A writers and can be reversed by
proteins that act as
m6A erasers. The RNA m6A modification is also mediated by another group of
proteins capable of recognizing
m6A that act as
m6A readers. The
m6A modification exerts direct control over the
RNA metabolism including
mRNA processing,
mRNA exporting, translation initiation, mRNA stability and the biogenesis of
long-non-coding RNA (
LncRNA), thereby can influence various aspects of cell function. Evidently,
m6A is intimately associated with
cancer development and progression such as self-renewal capacity of cancer stem cells, proliferation, apoptosis and therapeutic resistance, and immune response. In this review, we will discuss the regulation and function of
m6A, the various functions ascribed to these
proteins and the emerging concepts that impact our knowledge of these
proteins and their roles in the epitranscriptome. Conceivably,
m6A may play pivotal roles in
cytokine and immune response and
carcinogenesis.