Comprehensive analysis of the transcriptome-wide m6A methylome of neonatal heart regeneration via MeRIP sequencing

Aim: To systematically classify the profile of the RNA m6A modification landscape of neonatal heart regeneration. Materials and Methods: Cardiomyocyte proliferation markers were detected via immunostaining. The expression of m6A modification regulators was detected using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) and Western blotting. Genome-wide profiling of m6A-modified transcripts was conducted with m6A-modified RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing (m6A-RIP-seq) and RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). The Gene Expression Omnibus database (GEO) dataset was used to verify the hub genes. Results: METTL3 and the level of m6A modification in total RNA were lower in P7 rat hearts than in P0 ones. In all, 1637 m6A peaks were differentially expressed using m6A-RIP-seq, with 84 upregulated and 1553 downregulated. Furthermore, conjoint analyses of m6A-RIP-seq, RNA-seq, and GEO data generated eight potential hub genes with differentially expressed hypermethylated or hypomethylated m6A levels. Conclusion: Our data show novel information on m6A modification changes in cardiac regeneration. The modifications made possible by directly modulating m6A may attract future study of cardiac regeneration. mRNA profiles and m6A profiles in heart tissues of 0 day old and 7 day old rat.