N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most prevalent
RNA epigenetic regulator in
cancer. However, the understanding of
m6A modification on lipid metabolism regulation in
colorectal cancer (CRC) is very limited. Here, we observed that human
CRCs exhibited increased
m6A mRNA methylation mediated by dysregulation of
m6A erasers and readers. By performing methylated
RNA-immunoprecipitation sequencing (MeRIP-seq) and transcriptomic sequencing (
RNA-seq), we identified DEGS2 as a downstream target of
m6A dysregulation. Overexpression or knockdown of DEGS2 confirmed the role of DEGS2 in proliferation, invasion and
metastasis of CRC both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistic studies identified the specific
m6A modification site within DEGS2
mRNA, and mutation of this target site was found to drastically enhance the proliferative and invasive ability of CRC cells in vitro and promote tumorigenicity in vivo. Lipidome analysis showed that lipid metabolism was dysregulated in CRC. Moreover,
ceramide synthesis was suppressed due to DEGS2 upregulation mediated by
m6A modification in CRC tissues. Our findings highlight that the function of DEGS2
m6A methylation in CRC and extend the understanding of the importance of
RNA epigenetics in
cancer biology.