Although large numbers of long noncoding RNAs (IncRNAs) expressed in the mammalian nervous system have been detected, their functions and mechanisms of regulation remain to be fully clarified. It has been reported that the IncRNA antisense transcript for beta-secretase-1 (BACE1-AS) is elevated in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and drives the rapid feed-forward regulation of p-secretase, suggesting that it is critical in AD development. In the present study, the senile plaque (SP) AD SH-SY5Y cell model was established using the synthetic amyloid beta-protein (A beta) 1-42 in vitro. Using this model, the potential of siRNA-mediated silencing of IncRNA BACE1-AS expression to attenuate the ability of beta-secretase-1 (BACE1) to cleave amyloid precursor protein (APP) and to reduce the production of A beta(1-42) oligomers was investigated. MTT assays demonstrated that exogenous A beta(1-42) suppressed SH-SY5Y cell proliferation and induced APP-related factor expression and SP formation: Furthermore, quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis revealed that the mRNA and protein expression of A beta(1-42) and A beta(1-40) was significantly increased in the AD model group, with a marked decrease in Ki-67 expression at day six. RNase protection assays (RPA) and northern blotting analysis confirmed that exogenous A beta(1-42) not only promoted the expression of the APP-cleaving enzyme BACE1, but also induced IncRNA BACE1-AS expression. Furthermore, IncRNA BACE1-AS formed RNA duplexes and increased the stability of BACE1 mRNA. Downregulation of IncRNA BACE1-AS expression in SH-SY5Y cells by siRNA silencing resulted in the attenuation of the ability of BACE1 to cleave APP and delayed the induction of SP formation in the SP AD SH-SY5Y cell model.