The review describes the role of telomeres and telomerase in tumor progression, as well as various mechanisms of the activation of telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) expression in CNS tumors and other cancers. The main mechanism of TERT activation involves acquisition of somatic mutations by the TERT gene promoter (TERTp). The article presents information on the TERTp structure and transcription factors directly interacting with TERTp and regulating its transcription. The prospects of using the mutational status of TERTp as a prognostic marker of CNS malignancies and other tumors with a common profile of TERTp mutations are discussed.
Keywords: CNS tumors; regulation of expression; somatic mutations; telomerase; telomerase reverse transcriptase promoter region; telomeres; transcription factors.