Substrate promiscuity of Dicer toward precursors of the let-7 family and their 3'-end modifications.

The human let-7 miRNA family consists of thirteen members that play critical roles in many biological processes, including development timing and tumor suppression, and their levels are disrupted in several diseases. Dicer is the endoribonuclease responsible for processing the precursor miRNA (pre-miRNA) to yield the mature miRNA, and thereby plays a crucial role in controlling the cellular levels of let-7 miRNAs. It is well established that the sequence and structural features of pre-miRNA hairpins such as the 5'-phosphate, the apical loop, and the 2-nt 3'-overhang are important for the processing activity of Dicer.

Identification and characterization of cis-regulatory elements 'insulator and repressor' in PPARD gene.

Aim: Identification and functional characterization of cis-regulatory elements in human PPARD gene.

Methods: We used various bioinformatic tools on the publicly available human genome and Encyclopedia of DNA Elements databases to explore potential cis-regulatory elements in PPARD gene region.

Results: We predicted an insulator and an enhancer element in intron 2 of PPARD gene.