LncRNA MALAT1: A Potential Fibrosis Biomarker and Therapeutic Target

Due to the lack of an effective method for the treatment of fibrosis, there are numerous patients suffering from the effects of fibrosis. Severe fibrosis can cause dysfunction of relevant organs characterized by excessive deposition of extracellular matrix components. Metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1) is a long non-coding RNA that is widely expressed and highly conserved in human tissues. It can regulate gene expression at various molecular levels, involved in the fibrosis of the liver, heart, lung, and kidney. In this review, we first described the pathogenesis by which MALAT1 promotes fibrosis. Furthermore, we summarized current studies of MALAT1 in the fibrosis of various organs. Hope this review will contribute to a better understanding of the molecular mechanism of fibrosis and the potential of MALAT1 as a novel therapeutic target for fibrosis.