Protein Name telomerase RNA component
Organism Homo sapiens
Gene ID 7012
Gene Symbol

TERC

UniProt -
Relationships Total Number of functionally related compound(s) : 177
Total Number of Articles : 184
Description

telomerase RNA component

Gene Summary

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, and an RNA component, encoded by this gene, that 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, since de novo synthesis of telomere repeats may occur at double-stranded breaks. Mutations in this gene cause autosomal dominant dyskeratosis congenita, and may also be associated with some cases of aplastic anemia. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]

synonyms
  • small Cajal body-specific RNA 19
  • DKCA1
  • PFBMFT2
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Properties