Fig 2: mRNA m6A modification enhances mRNA stability of FAAP20 and ATRX by IGF2BPs. (A, B) RT-PCR analysis showing that knockdown of IGF2BP1/2/3 completely blocks H2O2-induecd upregulation of FAAP20 and ATRX. (C, D) IGF2BP2 RIP analysis showing that H2O2 treatment significantly increases IGF2BP2 enrichment at mRNAs of FAAP20 and ATRX. (E-G) Western blot analyses indicating that knockdown of FAAP20, ATRX and RFC2 markedly increases CCCP-induced DNA damage in HEK293T cells. (H) Annexin V staining analysis showing that CCCP-induced cell apoptosis can be dramatically promoted by knockdown of FAAP20, ATRX and RFC2.

Fig 3: IMP2 promotes Th17 cell generation.(A–C) Imp2+/+ (n = 7–10) and Imp2–/– (n = 7–10) mice were subjected to EAE. Inguinal lymph node cells harvested on day 10 were treated with PMA/ionomycin for 4 hours. Cells were stained for CD4, IL-17A, IL-10, and IFN-γ and quantified by flow cytometry. Data were pooled from 2–3 independent experiments. Right: representative FACS plots. Throughout, each symbol represents 1 mouse. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 by unpaired Student’s t test.

Fig 4: Airn exerts its anti-fibrotic effects by directly binding to insulin-like growth factor 2 mRNA-binding protein 2 (IMP2). A IMP2 was pulled down by biotin-labeled sense Airn but not Airn anti-sense RNA in CFs. B RIP-qPCR showed the binding between Airn and IMP2 using anti-IMP2 antibody compared with the IgG antibody. C RNA FISH and immunofluorescence co-staining was employed to detect the colocalization of IMP2 protein (green), Airn (red) and DAPI (blue); upper scale bar = 20 μm, lower scale bar = 5 μm. D Representative blot images and quantitative analysis of collagen I and α-SMA expression in CFs. E Representative images of immunofluorescence staining for EdU (green) and DAPI (bule) and quantification of the proliferative cells; Scale bar = 50 μm. F Representative images of immunofluorescence staining for α-SMA (green) and DAPI (blue) and quantification of the relative cell area of CFs; Scale bar = 50 μm. Data are presented as means ± SEM. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01. n = 3 wells

Fig 5: IGF2BP2-mediated upregulation of DANCR promotes cell proliferation and stemness-like properties.a IGF2BP2 siRNA down regulates DANCR expression in BXPC-3 cells, as determined by qRT-PCR, whereas ectopic expression of IGF2BP2 increases DANCR level (b). c Like IGF2BP2 siRNA, IGF2BP2 KO also suppresses DANCR expression in BXPC-3 cells. d DANCR promotes cell proliferation in BXPC-3 and SW1990 cells, as determined by CCK8 assays. e DANCR also promotes colony formation. f Ectopic expression of DANCR increases sphere formation in number and size. g DANCR-overexpression promotes expression of stemness-related genes (OCT4, NANOG, BMI 1, CD24, and CD133) in pancreatic cancer cells, as determined by qRT-PCR and at the protein level (h). i Percentage of CD24+ and CD133+ population in DANCR overexpression and control (NC) cells, as determined by flow cytometry. The statistical results of flow cytometry were showed on the right. Values in a, b, c, d, e, g, i are mean ± SEM. *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001.