Erianin abrogates vasculogenic mimicry through targeting m5C methylase NSUN2
Purpose: The precise temporal and spatial regulation of N5-methylcytosine (m5C) RNA modification plays essential roles in RNA metabolism. Targeting m5C regulation in cancer cells may be a potential strategy for cancer therapy. Erianin is a natural product isolated from Dendrobium chrysotoxum Lindl. Howbeit, the in-depth understanding of interaction between erianin and m5C modification remains indistinct. Methods: Natural product library screening was used to explore the effects of natural product monomers on uveal melanoma (UM) cells. Intraocular xenografts model was established to examine the effect of erianin. Immunoprecipitation mass spectrometry (IP-MS) and molecular docking analyses were performed to identify NSUN2 as the target of erianin. m5C-meRIP-seq and m5C-meRIP-qPCR analyses were performed to identify the functional target of NSUN2. Tube formation assay and CD31-PAS double staining were used to detect vasculogenic mimicry (VM) in UM. Results: Herein, we report the discovery of erianin as an effective inhibitor of uveal melanoma. Mechanistically, the targeted inhibition of NSUN2 function by erianin results in a decrease in the m5C modification and expression levels of CHAC1 in UM, thereby curtailing the formation of VM. Conclusions: Collectively, our data suggested that erianin significantly inhibited UM progression in vitro and in vivo. Our study unveils a novel therapeutic strategy for combating UM. Overall design: merip-m5C-seq and RNA-seq  upon erianin treatment in human uveal melanoma cells