METTL16支持精氨酸生物合成，并抑制IL-1β的生成，从而减轻过敏性哮喘症状。

Abstract

Allergic asthma is a common disease. We aimed to investigate the role of METTL16, an N 6 -methyladenosine (m 6 A) writer, in allergic asthma and epithelial homeostasis. Here we show that pulmonary METTL16 expression was decreased in patients with allergic asthma and in a murine model of allergic asthma, particularly in airway epithelial cells. Genetic depletion of Mettl16 enhanced type 2 cytokine production and exacerbated epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), whereas lung-specific METTL16 overexpression attenuated allergic airway inflammation and remodeling. Mechanistically, METTL16 promoted epithelial arginine biosynthesis and thereby suppressed IL-1β production. Furthermore, loss of Mettl16 impaired m 6 A modification of Ass1 mRNA, and increased Ass1 expression was associated with arginine biosynthesis. Our findings identify METTL16 as a critical regulator of allergic asthma and suggest it as a potential therapeutic target.