Under normal BMI values, this adipokine has been shown to exhibit insulin-sensitizing, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, anti-atherosclerotic, as well as neuroprotective properties, such as the induction of neuronal progenitors (Pérez-González et al., 2011; Letra et al., 2019), which is reversed in obesity. This evidence concerns the gene INS and obesity due to melanocortin 4 receptor deficiency.