MALAT1 and asthma: In addition, asthma is associated with upregulated MALAT1 and downregulated miRNA-216a (which is inhibited by MALAT1, acting as a molecular sponge), while the opposite (MALAT1 downregulation and/or miRNA-216a upregulation) significantly increases apoptosis while significantly decreasing cell proliferation, migration, and invasion (Huang J. et al., 2021).