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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. Exceptionally, nine precursors of the let-7 family (pre-let-7) contain a 1-nt 3′-overhang and get mono-uridylated in vivo, presumably to allow efficient processing by Dicer. Pre-let-7 are also oligo-uridylated in vivo to promote their degradation and likely prevent their efficient processing by Dicer. In this study, we systematically investigated the impact of sequence and structural features of all human let-7 pre-miRNAs, including their 3′-end modifications, on Dicer binding and processing. Through the combination of SHAPE structural probing, in vitro binding and kinetic studies using purified human Dicer, we show that despite structural discrepancies among pre-let-7 RNAs, Dicer exhibits remarkable promiscuity in binding and cleaving these substrates. Moreover, the 1- or 2-nt 3′-overhang, 3′-mono-uridylation, and 3′-oligo-uridylation of pre-let-7 substrates appear to have little effect on Dicer binding and cleavage rates. Thus, this study extends current knowledge regarding the broad substrate specificity of Dicer and provides novel insight regarding the effect of 3′-modifications on binding and cleavage by Dicer.

Identification and functional characterization of -regulatory elements in human gene. We used various bioinformatic tools on the publicly available human genome and Encyclopedia of DNA Elements databases to explore potential -regulatory elements in gene region. We predicted an insulator and an enhancer element in intron 2 of gene. Functional characterization using transient transfection, reporter assay and CTCF binding confirmed the insulator status. However, the predicted enhancer element showed repressor/silencer activity. Finally, we observed a potential interaction between these two -regulatory elements which is in agreement with 5C-Encyclopedia of DNA Elements data. We report two functionally validated -regulatory elements in gene which will aid in understanding its regulation and role in metabolic functions.

Identification and functional characterization of cis-regulatory elements in human PPARD gene. 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. We predicted an insulator and an enhancer element in intron 2 of PPARD gene. Functional characterization using transient transfection, reporter assay and CTCF binding confirmed the insulator status. However, the predicted enhancer element showed repressor/silencer activity. Finally, we observed a potential interaction between these two cis-regulatory elements which is in agreement with 5C-Encyclopedia of DNA Elements data. We report two functionally validated cis-regulatory elements in PPARD gene which will aid in understanding its regulation and role in metabolic functions.