A new Genomic Psychiatry High-Priority Research Communication by Professor Yogesh Dwivedi and colleagues at the University of Alabama at Birmingham reports original, peer-reviewed findings demonstrating that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) participate in stress-linked chromatin silencing during glucocorticoid receptor (GR) activation. Using an in vitro neuronal model, the team identified 79 significantly altered lncRNAs (44 upregulated, 35 downregulated; p < 0.05) following GR overexpression, with several physically interacting with the polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) via EZH2 and the histone mark H3K27me3. These lncRNAs inversely correlated with nearby gene expression (R = –0.21, p < 0.005), repressing genes essential for synaptic communication and neuronal signaling. The discovery offers a mechanistic link between chronic stress exposure and long-lasting gene repression, suggesting that lncRNAs could serve as molecular signatures or intervention targets in major depressive disorder.

New preclinical research from the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC suggests that resistance training may offer greater protection against obesity and type 2 diabetes than endurance exercise. In a study published Oct. 30 in the Journal of Sport and Health Science, Zhen Yan and colleagues developed a novel mouse model that mimics weightlifting and compared it directly to voluntary running in mice fed a high-fat diet.