New Insights into Long Non-Coding RNA MALAT1 in Cancer and Metastasis

Metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 ( ) is one of the most abundant, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in normal tissues. This lncRNA is highly conserved among mammalian species, and based on in vitro results, has been reported to regulate alternative pre-mRNA splicing and gene expression. However, knockout mice develop and grow normally, and do not show alterations in alternative splicing. While was originally described as a prognostic marker of lung cancer metastasis, emerging evidence has linked this lncRNA to other cancers, such as breast cancer, prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, glioma, and leukemia. The role described for is dependent on the cancer types and the experimental model systems. Notably, different or opposite phenotypes resulting from different strategies for inactivating have been observed, which led to distinct models for s functions and mechanisms of action in cancer and metastasis. In this review, we reflect on different experimental strategies used to study s functions, and discuss the current mechanistic models of this highly abundant and conserved lncRNA.