Anti-TERT Antibody from rabbit, purified by affinity chromatography

Telomerase reverse transcriptase (EC 2.7.7.49; UniProt O14746; also known as hEST2, hTRT, Telomerase-associated protein 2, Telomerase catalytic subunit, TP2) is encoded by the TERT (also known as CMM9, DKCA2, DKCB4, EST2, PFBMFT1, TCS1, TRT) gene (Gene ID 7015) in human. Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) is the catalytic subunit of the telomerase responsible for adding TTAGGG repeats to the chromosome telomere ends. Cells with low or no telomerase expression lose telomere repeats during cell division, eventually resulting in cellular senescence. Most cancer cells, germ cells and embryonic stem cells express high levels of telomerase, thus contributing to pluripotency and immortality. In addition to its telomere maintenance function, telomerase also has a pro-survival role in cellular resistance against DNA damage and ensuing apoptosis. Most cancer cells are highly proliferative and express high levels of nuclear telomerase activity. Studies show that TERT shuttles from the nucleus into mitochondria upon oxidative stress induction in cancer cells. TERT mitochondrial localization helps prevent nuclear DNA damage by decreasing mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS), accounting for high stress resistance especially among the cancer stem cells (CSCs) population. Following exposure to H2O2 or gamma-irradiation, cancer cells capable of excluding TERT from the nucleus display little or no DNA damage, while TERT nuclear retainment results in high DNA damage.