The lincRNA MIRAT binds to IQGAP1 and modulates the MAPK pathway in NRAS mutant melanoma

Despite major advances in targeted melanoma therapies, drug resistance limits their efficacy. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are transcriptome elements that do not encode proteins but are important regulatory molecules. LncRNAs have been implicated in cancer development and response to different therapeutics and are thus potential treatment targets; however, the majority of their functions and molecular interactions remain unexplored. In this study, we identify a novel cytoplasmic intergenic lincRNA (MIRAT), which is upregulated following prolonged MAPK inhibition in NRAS mutant melanoma and modulates MAPK signaling by binding to the MEK scaffold protein IQGAP1. Collectively, our results present MIRAT’s direct modulatory effect on the MAPK pathway and highlight the relevance of cytoplasmic lncRNAs as potential targets in drug resistant cancer.