Animal experiment:

Three weeks after the light-dark cycle have been reversed, all mice are sham dosed by p.o. gavage for 6 days to habituate the animals to the procedure, randomized into experimental groups base on average body weights and dosed p.o. with AZD1979 (20, 40 or 60 μmol/kg twice daily at 8:00 h and 15:00 h) or vehicle (0.5% HPMC, 0.1% Tween twice daily) for 21 days (n=6 per group). Three mice per group are then dosed once more with the respective doses of AZD1979 (20, 40 or 60 μmol/kg p.o.) and killed after 17 h by administration of an overdose of isoflurane (anaesthesia)[1].

AZD1979 is a Melanin-concentrating hormone receptor 1 (MCHr1) antagonist with an IC50 of ~12 nM.

In DIO mice, initial AZD1979-mediate body weight loss is driven by decreasing food intake, but an additional component of preserving energy expenditure is apparent in pair-feeding and indirect calorimetry studies. AZD1979 also dose-dependently reduces body weight in dogs[1].

[1]. Ploj K, et al. Effects of a novel potent melanin-concentrating hormone receptor 1 antagonist, AZD1979, on body weight homeostasis in mice and dogs. Br J Pharmacol. 2016 Sep;173(18):2739-51.