DICER1 and age-related macular degeneration: A hint for a potential mechanistic involvement of MAPKs in AMD comes from the finding that the RPE of patients with geographic atrophy, an untreatable advanced form of dry (non-neovascular) AMD, have reduced miRNA processing enzyme DICER1, and the ablation of this specific gene is sufficient to induce RPE degeneration in mice [33] by causing toxic levels of RNA from the Alu family of short interspersed elements in the genome and specifically promoting the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 in vivo [34].