Further assessment found that miR-146a regulates both the inflammatory response and metabolic state of macrophages through a mechanism involving repression of its target, Traf6. Finally, we found that inhibition of mTOR using rapamycin was able to reverse the obesity phenotype in miR-146a-/- mice. The gene discussed is TRAF6; the disease is obesity due to melanocortin 4 receptor deficiency.