TERT catalyzes telomere maintenance. While silenced in most normal somatic cells, TERT is expressed in cancer, often due to promoter mutations, facilitating replicative immortality. In this issue of Cancer Cell, Mancini et al. demonstrate that GABPβ1L is required for mutant TERT promoter activity, thus identifying a potential therapeutic target.
GABPβ1L Wakes Up TERT.
Cancer cell