Dual mechanism of DICER downregulation facilitates cancer metastasis.

Although downregulation of DICER - a critical enzyme in microRNA (miRNA) maturation - reportedly promotes cancer metastasis, understanding of its upstream regulators remains limited. Our recent study demonstrated a noncanonical oncogenic effect of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), which directly binds with DICER to promote PARKIN-mediated autophagic-lysosomal proteolysis and consequently suppresses miRNA biogenesis, facilitating metastasis.