m6A and cardiac posttranscriptional regulation: a novel player in heart development and disease

The growing body of research on cardiac epitranscriptomic factors has underscored their potential biological roles and impact on heart development and disease. While transcriptional and translational regulation of cardiac genes in the developing heart has been extensively studied, the potential roles of posttranscriptional regulation of cardiac mRNAs remain a significant gap in our understanding. In addition, discrepancies between transcriptomes and proteomes in both embryonic and adult hearts are well recognized, further suggesting an emerging regulatory role of the epitranscriptome in cardiac biology. Here we summarize the current understanding of m6A machinery and associated RNA-binding proteins in the heart and discuss their impact on heart development. By identifying existing knowledge gaps, we aim to provide insights that may inform future research directions.