Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Research Highlight
  • Published:

POLYCYSTIC KIDNEY DISEASE

Methionine metabolism: a driver of ADPKD

Nature Reviews Nephrology volume 17, page 368 (2021)Cite this article

Subjects

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is the most common inherited kidney disease, characterized by the growth of progressively enlarging cysts. Mettl3, a methyltransferase that mediates N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modifications in RNA, has proposed roles in development and cancers; however, its role in kidney disorders is unknown. New findings now connect the Mettl3–m6A pathway to ADPKD development and identify methionine, a raw material for this pathway, as a metabolic risk factor for ADPKD.

In both mouse models of ADPKD and human cystic kidney samples, the researchers observed upregulation of Mettl3 and m6A levels compared with those of healthy controls. Newly developed transgenic mice with tubule-specific overexpression of Mettl3 showed induction of m6A expression and autonomously developed kidney cysts, whereas deletion of Mettl3 ameliorated cyst growth in ADPKD models.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

Original article

  • Ramalingam, H. et al. A methionine-Mettl3-N6-methyladenosine axis promotes polycystic kidney disease. Cell Metab. 33, 1–14 (2021)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nature Reviews Nephrology http://www.nature.com/nrneph

    Photini-Marie Knoyle

Authors
  1. Photini-Marie Knoyle
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Photini-Marie Knoyle.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Knoyle, PM. Methionine metabolism: a driver of ADPKD. Nat Rev Nephrol 17, 368 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41581-021-00437-z

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41581-021-00437-z

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing