- Wang, Bo-Jeng;
- Her, Guor Mour;
- Hu, Ming-Kuan;
- Chen, Yun-Wen;
- Tung, Ying-Tsen;
- Wu, Pei-Yi;
- Hsu, Wen-Ming;
- Lee, Hsinyu;
- Jin, Lee-Way;
- Hwang, Sheng-Ping L;
- Chen, Rita P-Y;
- Huang, Chang-Jen;
- Liao, Yung-Feng
Proteolytic processing of amyloid precursor protein (APP) C-terminal fragments (CTFs) by γ-secretase underlies the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). An RNA interference screen using APP-CTF [99-residue CTF (C99)]- and Notch-specific γ-secretase interaction assays identified a unique ErbB2-centered signaling network that was predicted to preferentially govern the proteostasis of APP-C99. Consistently, significantly elevated levels of ErbB2 were confirmed in the hippocampus of human AD brains. We then found that ErbB2 effectively suppressed autophagic flux by physically dissociating Beclin-1 from the Vps34-Vps15 complex independent of its kinase activity. Down-regulation of ErbB2 by CL-387,785 decreased the levels of C99 and secreted amyloid-β in cellular, zebrafish, and mouse models of AD, through the activation of autophagy. Oral administration of an ErbB2-targeted CL-387,785 for 3 wk significantly improves the cognitive functions of APP/presenilin-1 (PS1) transgenic mice. This work unveils a noncanonical function of ErbB2 in modulating autophagy and establishes ErbB2 as a therapeutic target for AD.