N6-Methyladenosine METTL3 Modulates the Proliferation and Apoptosis of Lens Epithelial Cells in Diabetic Cataract

N-6-methyladenosine (m(6)A) is the most prevalent eukaryotic messenger RNA modification. Diabetic cataract (DC) is caused by high glucose (HG) in diabetes mellitus. However, the regulatory mechanism of m(6)A in the DC pathogenesis is poorly understood. In present research, we performed the m(6)A-RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing (MeRIP-Seq) analysis and detected the m(6)A modification profile in the HG- or normal glucose (NG)-induced human lens epithelial cells (HLECs). Results revealed that methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3) was upregulated in the DC tissue specimens and HG-induced HLECs. Besides, total m(6)A modification level was higher in the HG-induced HLECs. Functionally, METTL3 knockdown promoted the proliferation and repressed the apoptosis of HLECs induced by HG. MeRIP-Seq analysis revealed that ICAM-1 might act as the target of METTL3. Mechanistically, METTL3 targets the 3' UTR of ICAM-1 to stabilize mRNA stability. In conclusion, this research identified the regulation of METTL3 in the HG-induced HLECs, providing a potential insight of the m(6)A modification for DC.