Disulfiram Treatment Normalizes Body Weight in Obese Mice

Abstract

Obesity is a top public health concern, and a molecule that safely treats obesity is urgently needed. Disulfiram (known commercially as Antabuse), an FDA-approved treatment for chronic alcohol addiction, exhibits anti-inflammatory properties and helps protect against certain types of cancer. Here, we show that in mice disul-firam treatment prevented body weight gain and abrogated the adverse impact of an obesogenic diet on in-sulin responsiveness while mitigating liver steatosis and pancreatic islet hypertrophy. Additionally, disulfiram treatment reversed established diet-induced obesity and metabolic dysfunctions in middle-aged mice. Re-ductions in feeding efficiency and increases in energy expenditure were associated with body weight regu-lation in response to long-term disulfiram treatment. Loss of fat tissue and an increase in liver fenestrations were also observed in rats on disulfiram. Given the potent anti-obesogenic effects in rodents, repurposing disulfiram in the clinic could represent a new strategy to treat obesity and its metabolic comorbidities.