Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) is a ribonucleoprotein enzyme essential for eukaryotic chromosomal termini replication. It is a useful marker as it is active only in progenitor and most cancer cells, but inactive or (active at very low activity) in normal somatic cells. TERT is the catalytic component of a much larger holoenzyme complex (consisting of TERT, DKC1, WDR79, NOP10, NHP2, NOLA1, TEP1, SMG6, POT1 and TERC) responsible for maintaining and elongating telomeres at chromosome ends. TERT behaves as a reverse transcriptase and adds simple repetitive sequences by copying a template sequence within the RNA component of the enzyme. Researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute used the TERT antibody to characterize the dynamic balance between telomerase activity and telomere structure regulation in normal cells and that telomere length alone does not trigger senescence (1).
Immunocytochemistry/Immunofluorescence: Telomerase reverse transcriptase Antibody
A follow-up study using TERT antibodies found that TERT does not alter short-term telomere integrity but instead affects chromatin’s overall configuration and therefore downstream DNA repair and the DNA damage response pathway (2). Some interesting TERT antibody studies have identified the interferon-inducible IF116 protein as a negative regulator of both TERT and c-myc at the gene expression level (3). Further studies from MD Anderson using the TERT antibody show some promise for the activating ehnacer-binding protein 2Beta (AP2B) as a prognostic marker for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) survival after resection (4). Researchers were able to evaluate and suggest future design strategies for universal cancer peptide-based (UCP-based) vaccinations as antitumor immunotherapies in a variety of cancer types with the TERT antibody (5).
Novus Biologicals offers various Telomerase reverse transcriptase reagents for your research needs including:
