EPOR and obesity due to melanocortin 4 receptor deficiency: In contrast, deletion of EPOR in neural cells using the Nestin-Cre transgenic model showed increased weight gain, hypothalamus inflammation, and inflammatory cytokine expression in male mice, indicating that endogenous cerebral EPO also contributes to the protection against weight gain and hypothalamus inflammation during diet-induced obesity (Dey et al., 2020).