Activation of beta2-adrenergic receptor stimulates gamma-secretase activity and accelerates amyloid plaque formation.

Amyloid plaque is the hallmark and primary cause of Alzheimer disease. Mutations of presenilin-1, the gamma-secretase catalytic subunit, can affect amyloid-beta (Abeta) production and Alzheimer disease pathogenesis. However, it is largely unknown whether and how gamma-secretase activity and amyloid plaque formation are regulated by environmental factors such as stress, which is mediated by receptors including beta(2)-adrenergic receptor (beta(2)-AR). Here we report that activation of beta(2)-AR enhanced gamma-secretase activity and thus Abeta production. This enhancement involved the association of beta(2)-AR with presenilin-1 and required agonist-induced endocytosis of beta(2)-AR and subsequent trafficking of gamma-secretase to late endosomes and lysosomes, where Abeta production was elevated. Similar effects were observed after activation of delta-opioid receptor. Furthermore, chronic treatment with beta(2)-AR agonists increased cerebral amyloid plaques in an Alzheimer disease mouse model. Thus, beta(2)-AR activation can stimulate gamma-secretase activity and amyloid plaque formation, which suggests that abnormal activation of beta(2)-AR might contribute to Abeta accumulation in Alzheimer disease pathogenesis.