The TERT promoter is a regulatory region of the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene, which is crucial for the maintenance of telomeres. Telomeres are protective caps at the ends of chromosomes that prevent genomic instability, a hallmark of cancer. The TERT gene encodes the catalytic subunit of telomerase, an enzyme that adds telomere repeats to the ends of chromosomes, thus allowing cells to bypass the Hayflick limit and continue dividing.
