Long non-coding RNA MSC-AS1 confers imatinib resistance of gastrointestinal stromal tumor cells by activating FNDC1 and ANLN-mediated PI3K/AKT pathway.

Imatinib resistance is a major obstacle to the successful treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST). Long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) have been identified as important regulatory factors in chemotherapy resistance. This study aimed to identify key lncRNAs involved in imatinib resistance of GISTs. First, MSC-AS1 was found to be upregulated in imatinib-resistant GIST tissues and imatinib-resistant GIST cells. Cellular experiments demonstrated that MSC-AS1 overexpression decreased imatinib sensitivity of GIST cells, evidenced by increased cell survival, colony formation, migration, and invasion. Moreover, suppression of MSC-AS1 improved the imatinib resistance of imatinib-resistant GIST cells. Furthermore, MSC-AS1 upregulated the expression of FNDC1 and Anillin via sponging miR-200b-3p, activated the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase-AKT signaling pathway, and thereby driving imatinib resistance in vitro and in vivo. Overall, this study elucidates the crucial role and mechanism of MSC-AS1 in the imatinib resistance of GIST, providing the potential therapeutic strategy for overcoming the imatinib resistance of GIST.