Cell cycle-dependent translation-mediated turnover of the long noncoding RNA Malat1.

Malat1 long noncoding RNA is degraded during early G1 phase via a translation- and Smg1-dependent pathway, preventing its accumulation across the cell cycle.

• Why it matters: Understanding Malat1 turnover is crucial because its increased levels are linked to metastasis and poor prognosis in cancer, yet the mechanisms controlling its stability are not well known.
• What they did: The study examined Malat1 localization and decay in cells, revealing that it moves to the cytoplasm after mitosis and is degraded during early G1 through a translation-dependent pathway involving Smg1.
• The result: Disruption of Malat1 decay or cell cycle progression leads to its accumulation, suggesting that cell cycle-dependent regulation of Malat1 may contribute to its overexpression in cancer.