A later study investigating the possible role of ERK5 in myocardial disease secondary to metabolic disorders found that expression of ERK5, MEF2A and MEF2D decreased in the hearts of obese (ob/ob) and diabetic (db/db) mice following a high-fat diet (HFD), eventually leading to cardiomyopathy. This evidence concerns the gene MAPK7 and myocardial disorder.