Summary
Published in Cancers (2020), this peer-reviewed study used 3D Petri Dish® micro-molds to form scaffold-free 3D microtissues. Full citation: Merta, Ladislav, et al. Increased Level of Long Non-Coding RNA MALAT1 Is a Common Feature of Amoeboid Invasion
Increased Level of Long Non-Coding RNA MALAT1 Is a Common Feature of Amoeboid Invasion
Research Overview
Cancer cells can switch between migration modes, and this plasticity of invasiveness is a major obstacle in treating metastasis. This study compared publicly available transcriptomic datasets from various cell types undergoing a switch between mesenchymal and amoeboid migration.
The long non-coding RNA MALAT1 (metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1) was one of only three genes upregulated in every amoeboid cell population analyzed. Consistent with that, knocking down MALAT1 in the predominantly amoeboid cell lines A375m2 and A2058 reduced active RhoA and, in A375m2 cells, was accompanied by an amoeboid-to-mesenchymal transition. MALAT1 downregulation in amoeboid cells also increased proliferation.
Key Discoveries
- MALAT1 was one of three genes upregulated across all amoeboid cell datasets analyzed
- MALAT1 knockdown reduced active RhoA and triggered amoeboid-mesenchymal transition in A375m2 cells
- MALAT1 downregulation increased proliferation of amoeboid melanoma cells
