Whether our finding of compromised GR signaling is directly related to pathways that regulate immune functions is not clear at present; however, it has been reported that excessive psychological stress can activate TLRs, NF-κB, and the inflammasome NLRP3, which in turn can induce the secretion of IL-1β, IL-6 and factors associated with innate immune response, causing symptoms characteristic of depressive illness such as dysphoria and anhedonia70. Here, NFKB1 is linked to dysphoria.