Abstract:
Objective To investigate the expression levels of N6-methyladenosine methyltransferase like 3(METTL3) in colon tissue of patients with ulcerative colitis(UC), and its clinical significance.
Methods A total of 100 UC patients were selected as the study subjects.The disease activity was determined by Mayo score method: 30 cases were mildly active, 34 cases were moderately active, and 36 cases were severely active.According to the prognosis, the patients were divided into the poor prognosis group(56 cases) and good prognosis group(44 cases).Another 60 patients with colonic polyp during the same period were selected as the control group.The expression levels of METTL3 mRNA in colonic ucosa of UC patients and control group were detected by qRT-PCR, and the level of METTL3 protein in UC patients was detected by immunohistochemistry.The mRNA and protein expression levels of METTL3 in patients with different UC severity were compared to analyze its relationship with the severity and prognosis of UC.The predictive efficacy of METTL3 mRNA in UC was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curve.Cox regression analysis was performed to analyze the related factors affecting the poor prognosis of UC.
Results The mRNA level of METTL3 in colonic mucosa of the study group was higher than that of control group, and the difference was statistically significant(P < 0.01).Compared with the mildly active period, the METL3 mRNA level and positive rate of colonic mucosa in the moderately active period and severely active period were significantly higher(P < 0.05).Compared with the moderately active period, the METL3 mRNA level and positive rate of colonic mucosa in the severely active period were significantly higher(P < 0.05).The Mayo score, METL3 mRNA level, positive expression rate of METL3 and CRP in the poor prognosis group were significantly higher than those in good prognosis group(P < 0.05 to P < 0.01).The results of Spearman correlation analysis showed that there was a positive correlation between METTL3 mRNA and Mayo score in the study group(r=0.540, P < 0.05).The results of ROC curve showed that the area under the curve of patients diagnosed with METTL3 mRNA was 0.882 (95%CI: 0.813-0.951), the sensitivity was 82.10%, and the specificity was 86.40%.The results of Cox regression analysis showed that Mayo score and METL3 mRNA levels were the independent risk factors of poor prognosis in UC patients(P < 0.05).
Conclusions The METL3 level of UC patients is related to the prognosis, and its high level may indicate a poor prognosis.