Why do I see high levels of Malat1 in my gene expression data?

Question: Why do I see high levels of Malat1 in my gene expression data?

Answer: Malat1 is frequently detected in poly-A captured RNA-seq data, independent of protocol. The level of detection appears to be cell type-specific and also shows some inverse correlation with cell health. We have observed that dead/dying cells have higher expression of Malat1.

For an example of Malat1 detection in TruSeq bulk RNA-seq, see: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211124712001635).

Products: Single Cell Gene Expression, Single Cell Immune Profiling