Advanced glycation end products alter the m6A-modified RNA profiles in human dermal fibroblasts

Background: To explore advanced glycation end products (AGEs)-induced m6A modification in fibroblasts and its potential role in photoaging. Methods: We studied m6A modification in AGEs-bovine serum albumin-treated fibroblasts with m6A-mRNA & lncRNA epitranscriptomic microarray and bioinformatics analysis. The m6A modification level was also investigated in skin samples. Results: m6A methylation microarray analysis revealed m6A modification profiles in AGEs-treated fibroblasts. Gene ontology, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes, protein-protein interaction and competing endogenous RNA network analysis indicated that the genes of differentially methylated mRNAs and lncRNAs were mainly related to inflammation processes. We also found that AGEs-bovine serum albumin dose-dependently increased the m6A level and METTL14 expression in both fibroblasts and sun-exposed skin. Conclusion: Our study provided novel information regarding alterations of m6A modifications in AGEs-induced dermal fibroblasts and potential targets for treatment of photoaging.