Beta-cell specific deletion of dicer1 leads to defective insulin secretion and diabetes mellitus.
Mature microRNAs (miRNAs), derived through cleavage of pre-miRNAs by the Dicer1 enzyme, regulate protein expression in many cell-types including cells in the pancreatic islets of Langerhans. To investigate the importance of miRNAs in mouse insulin secreting β-cells, we have generated mice with a β-cells specific disruption of the Dicer1 gene using the Cre-lox system controlled by the rat insulin p
