No effect of dietary fat on short-term weight gain in mice treated with atypical antipsychotic drugs

Rationale: Atypical antipsychotic drugs (AAD) induce significant weight gain in female C57BL/6J mice. The effect of dietary fat on weight gain and serum lipids in this model is unknown. Objectives: Test the hypothesis that the obesigenic effects of these drugs are greater in the presence of a high-fat diet. Methods: Female C57BL/6J mice were treated with atypical antipsychotics for 3 weeks and fed either a low-fat or high-fat diet (4.6 vs 15.6% fat by wt). Food intake (FI), body weight (BW), body composition, and serum lipids were measured during treatment with optimized doses of olanzapine, quetiapine, and risperidone. Energy intake (EI) and feed efficiency (FE) were calculated. Group differences in change were analyzed via repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). Serum lipid concentrations, EI and FE were compared using two-way ANOVA. Results: AAD-treated mice gained significantly more weight than controls after 3 weeks (P < 0.001). Treatment and diet had significant effects on FI and EI over time (P < 0.001). AAD- treated mice had significantly higher FE than controls (P < 0.05); however, there was no significant drug by diet interaction (P < 0.65). Risperidone low-fat mice gained significantly more absolute fat mass than placebo low-fat mice (P < 0.05). All treatment groups, except quetiapine low-fat and olanzapine high-fat, gained significantly more absolute lean mass than placebo controls (P < 0.05). Cholesterol levels were significantly lower in quetiapine and risperidone than placebo (P < 0.05). Risperidone low-fat mice had significantly higher triglyceride levels than placebo and risperidone high-fat mice (P < 0.05). Conclusions: A high-fat diet does not increase AAD-induced BW gain in female mice during a 3-week treatment period.