Proteomics analysis of rat liver after disulfiram treatment

Obesity has become a global health concern. A molecule that safely prevents and/or treats obesity is urgently needed. Here, we show that long-term diet supplementation of disulfiram (DSF, Antabuse®), an FDA-approved drug, abrogated the adverse impact of an obesogenic diet on insulin responsiveness, while mitigating liver steatosis, cardiovascular remodeling, and pancreatic islet hypertrophy in mice. Additionally, DSF treatment of already obese male and female mice reversed weight gain and alleviated metabolic dysfunctions. Loss of fat tissue and increase in liver fenestrations were also observed in rats on DSF. Transcriptomics and proteomics analyses of mouse and rat livers unveiled comparable signatures, as revealed by pathways associated with lipid and energy metabolism, redox, and detoxification. Mechanistically, markers of hepatic oxidative stress were abrogated in DSF-treated mice through activation of ALDH2 and GST activities in vivo and stimulation of autophagic flux in vitro. Thus, repurposing DSF may represent a new strategy to combat obesity and reverse the associated metabolic disorders in human.