Telomeres are nucleoprotein structures at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes. They regulate several crucial cellular functions and participate in the control of complex phenotypes, such as aging and cancer. Cell immortalization is strongly associated with the stabilization of telomere length. Therefore, it is suggested that cancer cells achieve immortalization in part through illegitimate activation of telomerase expression.
Human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) is the rate limiting catalytic subunit of telomerase. It is also responsible for addition of TTAGGG repeats to the telomere ends of the chromosome, which is important in maintaining cell immortality. In most normal human cells the expression of hTERT is very low. On the other hand, greater than 90 % of human tumors of different pathology and origins have been shown to upregulate telomerase expression, making hTERT a cancer associated target.
mol wt:120-130KDa
Also known as:
EST2; hEST2; TCS1; Telomerase associated protein 2; Telomerase Catalytic Subunit; Telomere Reverse Transcriptase; TERT; TP2; TRT