Consistent with the almost complete deletion of the Dicer locus (Additional file 1: Fig. S1A) the HTN-Cre treated cells showed a marked decrease in the levels of mature miRNAs (Fig. 1a), of Dicer transcript (Fig. 1b), and of Dicer protein (Fig. 1c) indicating that activity of the RNAi machinery was severely impaired. Here, DICER1 is linked to hypertensive disorder.