The hypothalamic IKKβ/NF-κB signaling pathway is involved in the inflammatory response, and contributes to the pathogenesis of obesity by inducing an insulin and leptin resistance through inflammation of the hypothalamic cells (Lee et al., 1996; Obici et al., 2002; Zhang et al., 2008; Douglass et al., 2017). The gene discussed is INS; the disease is obesity due to melanocortin 4 receptor deficiency.