MALAT1 and ischemic stroke: Additionally, it was shown that MALAT1 acts as a promoter of inflammation to boost IL-6 production by regulating NF-κB and p38-MAPK signaling pathways in pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells in acute lung injury [19,20]; however, MALAT1 was also reported to be an inflammation inhibitor in the neural microvasculature of ischemic stroke patients by the fact that MALAT1 downregulation significantly induced IL-6 expression and reduced tissue damage [21].