A phenotypic Caenorhabditis elegans screen identifies a selective suppressor of antipsychotic-induced hyperphagia

Antipsychotic (AP) drugs are used to treat psychiatric disorders but are associated with significant weight gain and metabolic disease. Increased food intake (hyperphagia) appears to be a driving force by which APs induce weight gain but the mechanisms are poorly understood. Here we report that administration of APs to C. elegans induces hyperphagia by a mechanism that is genetically distinct from basal food intake. We exploit this finding to screen for adjuvant drugs that suppress AP-induced hyperphagia in C. elegans and mice. In mice AP-induced hyperphagia is associated with a unique hypothalamic gene expression signature that is abrogated by adjuvant drug treatment. Genetic analysis of this signature using C. elegans identifies two transcription factors, nhr-25/Nr5a2 and nfyb-1/NFYB to be required for AP-induced hyperphagia. Our study reveals that AP-induced hyperphagia can be selectively suppressed without affecting basal food intake allowing for novel drug discovery strategies to combat AP-induced metabolic side effects.