Background: As a key enzyme of m⁶A methylation modification, methyltransferase-like 14 (METTL14 ) is involved in many physiological and pathophysiological processes. This study aims to explore the effect of METTL14  on the viability of osteosarcoma cells and explain the underlying molecular mechanism.
Methods: We detected the content of METTL14  in osteosarcoma tissue by qRT-PCR and Western blot. Experiments such as transwell, EdU, and CCK-8 have demonstrated the effect of METTL14  on osteosarcoma cell activity. In addition, the regulation of caspase-3  by METL14  was determined by Western blot. We used caspase-3  inhibitor to further reverse the effect of METTL14  on osteosarcoma cell apoptosis.
Results: We found that the expression of METTL14  in osteosarcoma cells was reduced compared with normal tissues. METTL14  overexpression significantly reduced the proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis of osteosarcoma cells. Inhibition of METL14  showed the opposite result. We have demonstrated that METTL14  finally achieves apoptosis by activating caspase-3 .
Conclusion: We have demonstrated that METTL14  has effects on osteosarcoma cell proliferation, migration, and invasion and promotes cell apoptosis by activating caspase-3 , which may become a potential therapeutic target for osteosarcoma.
Keywords: osteosarcoma, m⁶A methylation, METTL14