Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) regulates human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) expression in human cancer and primary cells.

Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is a transcription factor that plays a critical role in cytokine and growth factor signaling and is frequently activated in human tumors. Human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) is also often overexpressed in tumor cells and mediates cellular immortalization. Here we report that STAT3 directly regulates the expression of hTERT in a variety of human cancer cells.