TAOK3 and obesity due to melanocortin 4 receptor deficiency: To determine the potential impact of the depletion of TAOK3 on diet-induced obesity, we examined the phenotypic consequences of a high-fat diet challenge (45 kcal% fat) on male Taok3–/– mice and their wild-type littermates (see Additional file 1: Figure S1 for a schematic overview of the experimental design).