# The m6A Modification in Neurodegenerative Disease: A Cellular Perspective

## TL;DR

This review explores how m6A RNA modification affects different brain cells and contributes to diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

## Contribution

The paper highlights cell-type-specific roles of m6A in neurodegenerative diseases, offering new therapeutic insights.

## Key findings

- m6A regulates neuroinflammation and immune responses in microglia.
- m6A affects myelination through oligodendrocytes and alters neuronal survival.
- Dysregulated m6A contributes to the progression of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and ALS.

## Abstract

What are the main findings?

m6A modification exerts cell-type-specific regulatory roles in central nervous system.

Dysregulation of m6A modification is closely involved in the pathological progression of neurodegenerative diseases.

What is the implication of the main finding?

The cell-type-specific molecular mechanisms of m6A provide novel potential therapeutic targets for neurodegenerative diseases.

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most abundant internal RNA modification in eukaryotes and plays a critical role in gene expression regulation by influencing RNA stability, splicing, nuclear export, and translation. Emerging evidence suggests that dysregulation of m6A contributes to neuroinflammation, neurotoxicity, and synaptic dysfunction—key features of neurodegenerative diseases. This review aims to examine the role of m6A modification in neurodegenerative diseases from a cell-type-specific perspective. We systematically reviewed recent studies investigating m6A modifications in neurons and glial cells. Data from transcriptomic, epitranscriptomic, and functional studies were analyzed to understand how m6A dynamics influence disease-related processes. Findings indicate that m6A modifications regulate neuroinflammation and immune responses in microglia, modulate astrocytic support functions, affect myelination through oligodendrocytes, and alter m6A patterns in neurons, impacting synaptic plasticity, stress responses, and neuronal survival. These cell-type-specific roles of m6A contribute to the progression of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), and Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Understanding m6A-modulated mechanisms in specific neural cell types may facilitate the development of targeted interventions for neurodegenerative diseases.