However, aberrant or excessive activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome contribute to development of autoimmune and even metabolic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes (Donath and Shoelson, 2011), atherosclerotic disease (Rajamaki et al., 2016; Wang et al., 2017), obesity (Ahmad et al., 2016), gouty Arthritis (Liu Y. F. et al., 2016; Table 1). The gene discussed is NLRP3; the disease is obesity due to melanocortin 4 receptor deficiency.