Ineffectiveness of parenteral fluoxetine or RU-486 to alter long-term food intake, body weight or body composition of genetically obese mice
Dubuc, P.U.; Peterson, C.M.
Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics 255(3): 976-979
1990
ISSN/ISBN: 0022-3565 PMID: 2124625 Document Number: 361271
The effects of 3 weeks of daily subcutaneous injections of a serotonin agonist (fluoxetine, 20 mg/kg) or agent having antiglucocorticoid properties (RU-486, 20 mg/kg) on food intake and body growth were examined in C57BL/6 ob/ob and lean mice. Fluoxetine injections during ad libitum feeding led to depressed food intake and body weight in both obese and lean mice over the initial 10 days of treatment with full recovery of both intake and weight by the end of the study. Fluoxetine treatment of mice restricted to 3.2 g of laboratory diet per day caused small but persistent depressions of body weight in both phenotypes. RU-486 did not affect food intake weight or weight gain in either phenotype or feeding condition and neither drug affected carcass composition. Insulin levels were also unaffected by treatment but final corticosterone concentrations were consistently higher in fluoxetine-treated mice and lower in RU-486-treated mice. Although transient benefits on feeding and weight gain were observed with fluoxetine administration, the present results show that neither fluoxetine nor RU-486 administered parenterally provides significant long-term improvement in the metabolic, growth or behavioral disturbances that characterize ob/ob mice.