DICER1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus: In addition to providing clinical evidence supportive of the inflammasome hypothesis of type 2 diabetes, we introduce the concept that perturbation in the homeostasis of the DICER1-Alu RNA regulatory axis could be involved in triggering this aging-associated disease, as dysregulation of the DICER1-Alu/B2 RNA pathway is evident in adipose and muscle cells of type 2 diabetic humans and of high-fat diet-fed mice.