Therefore, if ST32db does indeed exert an anti-obesity effect through the p38 pathway, as proposed by Ku et al., it should promote upregulation of the p38 pathway and then induce the upregulation of ATF3, rather than downregulation, as seen in the animal experiments by Ku et al. [21]. Here, ATF3 is linked to obesity due to melanocortin 4 receptor deficiency.