TERT（telomerase reverse transcriptase），癌症关联基因，基因ID：7015，端粒酶是一种核糖核蛋白聚合酶，通过添加端粒重复序列TTagg来维持端粒末端。这种酶由一种具有逆转录酶活性的蛋白质成分（由该基因编码）和一种作为端粒重复模板的RNA成分组成。端粒酶的表达在细胞衰老中起作用，因为它通常在出生后的体细胞中被抑制，导致端粒逐渐缩短。体细胞端粒酶表达的放松调控可能与肿瘤发生有关。对小鼠的研究表明端粒酶也参与染色体修复，因为端粒重复序列的从头合成可能发生在双链断裂处。另外，还发现了编码端粒酶逆转录酶不同亚型的剪接变体；一些变体的全长序列尚未确定。在这个位点的选择性剪接被认为是调节端粒酶活性的一种机制。Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein polymerase that maintains telomere ends by addition of the telomere repeat TTAGGG. The enzyme consists of a protein component with reverse transcriptase activity， encoded by this gene， and an RNA component which serves as a template for the telomere repeat. Telomerase expression plays a role in cellular senescence， as it is normally repressed in postnatal somatic cells resulting in progressive shortening of telomeres. Deregulation of telomerase expression in somatic cells may be involved in oncogenesis. Studies in mouse suggest that telomerase also participates in chromosomal repair， sinc。