GSE131296
Changes in m6A RNA methylation contribute to heart failure progression by modulating translation
We analysed m6A RNA methylation via next generation sequencing (NGS). We found that approximately one quarter of the transcripts in the healthy mouse and human heart exhibit m6A RNA-methylation. There was a mild positive correlation of m6A RNA-methylation at the 5'UTR and coding region with transcript level while m6A RNA-methylation at the 3'UTR showed a mild negative correlation. When we analyzed heart failure in mice and humans we observed that changes in m6A RNA-methylation exceed changes in gene-expression. In mouse and human heart failure transcripts with altered m6A RNA-methylation were mainly linked to metabolic and regulatory pathways while changes in transcript level mainly represented changes in structural plasticity. Mechanistically we could link m6A RNA-methylation to altered RNA translation and protein production. Furthermore, mice with a cardiomyocyte restricted knockout of the demethylase Fto show an impaired function compared to control mice.  Thus, we describe for the first time m6A RNA methylation at the genome-wide level in the human heart and in addition use mouse models to provide evidence that changes in m6A RNA-methylation play an important role in heart failure development by affecting regulatory pathways distinct from those genes with altered expression levels regulate. Our data suggest that modulation of epitranscriptomic processes such as m6A-methylation might be an interesting target for therapeutic interventions. Overall design: We analyzed m6A RNA methylation via next generation sequencing (NGS) in mouse models for heart hypertrophy and heart failure along with human failed heart samples. Moreover, we show that methylation levels in heart failure is positively associated with polysome occupancy and thus with translation