Telomerase RNA component (TERC) (TERC)

The Human telomerase RNA component (TERC), also known as hTR, is a non-coding RNA that serves as an essential structural and functional component of the telomerase ribonucleoprotein complex (NCBI Gene ID: 7012). Its primary biological role is to provide the template sequence (3'-AAUCCC-5') for the synthesis of telomeric DNA repeats (TTAGGG) by the telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) enzyme (PubMed: 11283355). In most somatic cells, telomerase activity is low or absent, leading to progressive telomere shortening and eventual senescence; however, telomerase is highly upregulated in approximately 90% of human cancers, enabling the indefinite proliferative capacity of malignant cells (PubMed: 25208504). Drugs like Imetelstat (Rytelo) target the template region of TERC through competitive binding, effectively inhibiting telomerase activity and inducing apoptosis in cancer cells with short telomeres (FDA: Rytelo Prescribing Information). Beyond oncology, mutations in TERC are linked to telomeropathies such as dyskeratosis congenita and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (PubMed: 11567144). Therapeutic targeting of this region is particularly effective in hematologic malignancies where telomerase activity is a key driver of clonal expansion.

Other names

hTRhTERCTRTelomerase RNAHEC

Competitive inhibition of telomerase activity by binding to the RNA template region of the telomerase complex, preventing the addition of telomeric repeats to chromosome ends (PubMed: 25208504).