Regulation of Small RNAs by Exercise and Their Role in Insulin Sensitivity
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: We investigated effects of three aerobic exercise interventions, varying in amount and intensity with durations of 8-9-months on small RNA (smRNA) expression and regulatory pathways in skeletal muscle and plasma from 120 participants. Using untargeted smRNA sequencing focused on miRNAs and piRNAs, adjusting for demographics and bodyweight, we identified 124 muscle smRNAs altered by exercise amount and 15 by intensity, and 47 plasma smRNAs altered by intensity and one by amount. These smRNAs were enriched in metabolic, transcriptional, translational, and cell cycle pathways. Exercise-induced changes in several smRNAs-six from muscle and five from plasma-and exercise-induced reduction in body weight, aligned with improvement in insulin sensitivity (p<0.05). These findings demonstrate tissue-specific regulation of smRNAs by exercise and identify potential candidates for exercise mimetics to modulate muscle insulin sensitivity.
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: University of Minnesota Clinical and TranslationalmScience Institute (UMN CTSI), Epigenetic Mechanisms Promoting Longevity, Skeletal Muscle Molecular Drug Targets for Exercise-induced Cardiometabolic Health, University of Minnesota Clinical and Translational Science Institute (UMN CTSI), Behavior and Physiology in Aging, Midwest Murine-Tissue Mapping Center (MM-TMC), Minnesota Tissue Mapping Center for Senescent Cells, Duke Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center, The Center on Causal Data Science for Child Maltreatment Prevention (the CHAMP Center)
OpenAlex ID: W7161510506