Dicer interacts with SIRT7 and regulates H3K18 deacetylation in response to DNA damaging agents.

Dicer participates in heterochromatin formation in fission yeast and plants. However, whether it has a similar role in mammals remains controversial. Here we showed that the human Dicer protein interacts with SIRT7, an NAD(+)-dependent H3K18Ac (acetylated lysine 18 of histone H3) deacetylase, and holds a proportion of SIRT7 in the cytoplasm.

BMP-7 attenuates liver fibrosis via regulation of epidermal growth factor receptor.

The aim of this study was to elucidate the effect of bone morphogenetic protein-7 (BMP-7) on liver fibrosis induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) in vivo and on the hepatic stellate cells (HSC) activation in vitro. In vivo, thirty male ICR mice were randomly allocated to three groups, the control group (n = 6), the CCl4 group (n = 18) and the BMP-7+CCl4 group (n = 6). The model of liver fibrosis was induced by intraperitoneal injection with CCl4 three times per week lasting for 12 weeks in CCl4 group and the BMP-7+CCl4 group.

MicroRNA-581 promotes hepatitis B virus surface antigen expression by targeting Dicer and EDEM1.

Hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) is an important risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and is downregulated during hepatocarcinogenesis. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are frequently deregulated in HCC tissues. However, whether the deregulation of certain miRNAs in HCC has an impact on HBsAg expression remains unclear.