Fig. 1

METTL3 expression is significantly reduced in SLE CD4⁺ T cells compared with healthy controls (HCs). a Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) of the mRNA expression of METTL3, METTL14, ALKBH5, and FTO in SLE CD4⁺ T cells relative to HCs, n = 24. b Top: METTL3 protein levels in CD4⁺ T cells of SLE patients and HCs were detected by Western blot analysis, and GAPDH was used as a loading control; bottom: quantification of METTL3 protein levels, n = 11. c Global m⁶A modification level in CD4⁺ T cells was determined by m⁶A colorimetric quantification in SLE patients compared with HCs, n = 11. d Correlation between the SLEDAI score and mRNA expression of METTL3 in SLE CD4⁺ T cells, n = 20. e RT-qPCR of METTL3 expression in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), primary Sjogren’s Syndrome (pSS), psoriasis (PS), and SLE compared with HCs, n = 24. (*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ****p < 0.0001, ns, no significance, unpaired two-tailed Student’s t test for a–c, Pearson’s correlation analysis for d, one-way ANOVA with Dunnett’s multiple comparisons test for e)