Function of FTO

• FTO can demethylate N6-methyladenosine (m6A) in vitro and in vivo. FTO knockdown with siRNA led to increased amounts of m6A in polyA-RNA , whereas overexpression of FTO resulted in decreased amounts of m6A in human cells. FTO partially co-localizes with nuclear speckles , which supports the notion that m6A in nuclear RNA is a major physiological substrate of FTO. Function of FTO likely affects the processing of pre-mRNA , other nuclear RNAs, or both. The discovery of the FTO-mediated oxidative demethylation of m6A in nuclear RNA may initiate further investigations on biological regulation based on reversible chemical modification of RNA [1].

Disease relevance of FTO

• CONCLUSIONS: A minimum of three intervals of FTO is necessary to determine whether an amblyopia patient will be unresponsive to occlusion therapy [2].
• In contrast, HBV ccc DNA, HBV precore/core and X mRNAs, and replicative intermediates were not demonstrable in FTO 2B rat hepatoma cells infected in the same manner in parallel experiments [3].
• Expression of adipose tissue FTO mRNA is fat depot-specific and negatively correlates with measures of obesity [4].

High impact information on FTO

• Of the 44 occlusion trials consisting of two FTO intervals without improvement, visual acuity improved after the third FTO interval in 12 (27%) of the trials [2].
• Several typical bone proteins, including collagen I, osteocalcin, alkaline phosphatase and FATSO, were also expressed at significantly higher levels in teeth than in bone, probably due to the extreme growth rate of rat incisors [5].
• The role of the conducting glass substrate (fluorine-doped tin oxide, FTO) in the back reaction of electrons with tri-iodide ions in dye-sensitized nanocrystalline solar cells (DSCs) has been investigated using thin-layer electrochemical cells that are analogues of the DSCs [6].

Biological context of FTO

• Visual acuity improved after the second FTO interval in 25 (31%) of the trials [2].

References