Abstract
N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most abundant RNA modification in eukaryotes. Accumulating evidence suggests that dysregulation of m6A modification significantly correlates with tumorigenesis and progression. In this study, we observed an increased expression and positive correlations of all 25 m6A regulators in esophageal cancer (ESCA) data obtained from the TCGA database. Through expression profiling of these regulators, a prognostic score model containing HNRNPA2B1, ALKBH5, and HNRNPG was established, and the high-risk subgroup exhibited strong positive correlations with ESCA progression and outcome. The risk score obtained from this model may represent an independent predictor of ESCA prognosis. Notably, the gene most frequently associated with increased risk was HNRNPA2B1; in ESCA, the increased expression of this gene alone predicted poor prognosis by affecting tumor-promoting signaling pathways through miR-17-92 cluster. An experimental study demonstrated that elevated HNRNPA2B1 expression was positively associated with distant metastasis and lymph node stage, and predicted the poor outcomes of ESCA patients. Knockdown of HNRNPA2B1 significantly decreased the expression of miR-17, miR-18a, miR-20a, miR-93, and miR-106b and inhibited the proliferation of ESCA cells. Therefore, our study indicated that the dynamic changes in 25 m6A regulators were associated with the clinical features and prognosis of patients with ESCA. Importantly, HNRNPA2B1 alone may affect the prognosis of patients with ESCA by regulating the miR-17-92 cluster.