A1BG-AS1 promotes adriamycin resistance of breast cancer by recruiting IGF2BP2 to upregulate ABCB1 in an m6A-dependent manner

Adriamycin (ADR) resistance is an obstacle for chemotherapy of breast cancer (BC). ATP binding cassette subfamily B member 1 (ABCB1) expression is indicated to be closely related to the drug resistance of cancer cells. The current work intended to explore the molecular mechanisms to regulate ABCB1 in BC cells with ADR resistance. We found that long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) A1BG antisense RNA 1 (A1BG-AS1) is upregulated in ADR resistant BC cell lines (MCF-7/ADR, MDA-MB-231/ADR). A1BG-AS1 knockdown enhanced the ADR sensitivity by suppressing the viability, proliferation potential and migration ability, and facilitating cell apoptosis in BC. Insulin-like growth factor 2 mRNA-binding protein 2 (IGF2BP2) is known to be an m6A reader to modulate the stability of mRNA transcripts in an m6A-dependent manner, which was a shared RNA binding protein (RBP) for A1BG-AS1 and ABCB1. The interaction of IGF2BP2 with A1BG-AS1 or ABCB1 was explored and verified using RNA pulldown and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assays. ABCB1 mRNA and protein expression was positively regulated by A1BG-AS1 and IGF2BP2 in BC cells. ABCB1 mRNA expression was stabilized by A1BG-AS1 via recruiting IGF2BP2 in an m6A-dependent manner. Moreover, rescue assays demonstrated that A1BG-AS1 enhanced BC ADR resistance by positively modulating ABCB1. Xenograft mouse models were used to explore whether A1BG-AS1 affected the ADR resistance in BC in vivo. The findings indicated that A1BG-AS1 silencing inhibited tumor growth and alleviated ADR resistance in vivo. In conclusion, A1BG-AS1 enhances the ADR resistance of BC by recruiting IGF2BP2 to upregulate ABCB1 in an m6A-dependent manner.