Conclusion
Curcumin stimulates exosome release to remove cholesterol (and presumably other lipids) accumulated within the endolysosomal compartment, thereby normalizing intracellular lipid homeostasis. This action may help minimize the adverse metabolic effects of antipsychotic treatment, which should now be evaluated in clinical trials.
Methods
HepG2 hepatocarcinoma cells were treated with antipsychotics or placebo and DiI-labelled LDL for 18 h and then exposed to curcumin for the last 2 h. Cells and media were collected separately and used for biochemical analyses, electron microscopy and immunocytochemistry. Exosomes were isolated from the incubation medium by ultracentrifugation.
Results
Curcumin treatment reduced the number of heterolysosomes and shifted their subcellular localization to the periphery, as revealed by electron microscopy, and stimulated the release of lysosomal β-hexosaminidase and exosome markers flotillin-2 and CD63 into the media. The presence of DiI in exosomes released by cells preloaded with DiI-LDL demonstrated the endolysosomal origin of the microvesicles. Furthermore, curcumin increased the secretion of cholesterol as well as LDL-derived DiI and [3H]-cholesterol, in association with a decrease of intracellular lipids. Thus, the disruption of lipid trafficking induced by FGAs or SGAs can be relieved by curcumin treatment. This polyphenol, however, did not mitigate the reduction of cholesterol esterification induced by antipsychotics.