article · Cancers
Metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript-1 (MALAT-1) is a long intergenic non-coding RNA located on chromosome 11q13 that is overexpressed in multiple cancers. It controls gene expression via chromatin modification, transcription, and post-transcriptional regulation. MALAT-1 stimulates cell proliferation, migration, and metastasis while driving the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, which leads to cancer stem cell-like traits and drug resistance. Mechanistically, MALAT-1 modulates this transition by interacting with intracellular signalling routes, particularly the PI3K/Akt and Wnt/beta-catenin pathways, and by acting as a microRNA sponge to block interactions with target genes. Public genomic data from The Cancer Genome Atlas confirms marked expression differences between normal and tumour samples. Because it sits at the intersection of critical metastatic pathways, MALAT-1 serves as a candidate for therapeutic targeting via short hairpin RNAs, antisense oligonucleotides, and natural products.
Cancer metastasis and resistance to chemotherapy are the leading causes of treatment failure and cancer-related deaths. Clarifying how regulatory molecules like MALAT-1 drive tumour spread and drug resistance helps researchers pinpoint critical vulnerabilities in cancer cells. This understanding provides the foundation for designing new targeted treatments capable of preventing tumour migration and restoring sensitivity to standard cancer therapies.
This research identifies MALAT-1 as an early-stage molecular target for oncology therapeutics focused on tackling metastasis and chemoresistance. The potential beneficiaries are biotechnology and pharmaceutical developers working on RNA-targeted therapies, such as antisense oligonucleotides and short hairpin RNAs, or natural product formulations. The technology is in the early discovery and preclinical research phase, requiring substantial validation and delivery development before clinical deployment.
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Metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript-1 (MALAT-1) is a long intergenic non-coding RNA (lncRNA) located on chr11q13. It is overexpressed in several cancers and controls gene expression through chromatin modification, transcriptional regulation, and post-transcriptional regulation. Importantly, MALAT-1 stimulates cell proliferation, migration, and metastasis and serves a vital role in driving the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), subsequently acquiring cancer stem cell-like properties and developing drug resistance. MALAT-1 modulates EMT by interacting with various intracellular signaling pathways, notably the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt and Wnt/β-catenin pathways. It also behaves like a sponge for microRNAs, preventing their interaction with target genes and promoting EMT. In addition, we have used bioinformatics online tools to highlight the disparities in the expression of MALAT-1 between normal and cancer samples using data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Furthermore, the intricate interplay of MALAT-1 with several essential targets of cancer progression and metastasis renders it a good candidate for therapeutic interventions. Several innovative approaches have been exploited to target MALAT-1, such as short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs), antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs), and natural products. This review emphasizes the interplay between MALAT-1 and EMT in modulating cancer metastasis, stemness, and chemoresistance in different cancers.
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DOI: 10.3390/cancers16010234
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