Fig. 1

METTL1 is upregulated in prostate cancer. A A schematic overview of the research workflow used to identify altered expression of RMPs associated with PCa. B Heatmap of average Z-scores of mRNA expression values in human primary (P) and metastatic (M) PCa samples compared to healthy tissue for significant differentially expressed RNA-modifying enzymes reveals METTL1 as the most overexpressed RMPs in PCa. Data from are from Grasso et al. [7] (n = N: 12, P: 49, M: 27); Taylor et al. [6] (n = N: 29, P: 131, M: 19); Varambally et al. [42] (n = N: 6, P: 7, M: 6); Lapointe et al. [44] (n = N: 9, P: 13, M: 4); Tomlins et al. [43] (n = N: 23, P: 32, M: 20) (left panel) datasets. Z-score averages for all datasets are also shown as “Aver”. Z-score values are indicated using numeric values. Grey Z-score values indicate no significant p-value. The right heatmap shows the average log₂ fold change in mRNA expression values in Pten-cKO mice with prostate intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) and invasive prostate carcinoma (Inv) compared to normal prostate tissue (right panel) (n = 4). C METTL1 and WDR4 expression are increased in primary (PT) and metastatic tumours (M) compared to normal tissues (N). Data are from Grasso et al. [7], Taylor et al. [6], and Varambally et al. [42] datasets. Log₂-normalised gene expression values are shown. D High expression of METTL1 but not WDR4 is associated with poor patient prognosis. Kaplan–Meier curves representing biochemical recurrence-free survival (DFS) of patient groups selected according to gene expression, data from the Cambridge, Stockholm and Taylor cohorts [6, 46]. Data were retrieved from the camcAPP [48] and cBioportal. E Western blot from benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) (n = 7) and PCa patient samples (n = 14) (upper panel) and correlation analysis between METTL1 and WDR4 expression, AR and phospho-S6K (right panels). Statistical tests: ANOVA test (B, C), and log-rank Cox test (D). Data are represented as mean ± standard deviation (SD). Student’s t-test and Spearman’s correlation test (E)