Patent ID: 7226744

Claim:
A method of determining whether an agent modulates transcription control activity of a telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) promoter nucleic acid operatively linked to a nucleic acid encoding a TERT, said method comprising: (a) contacting said agent with a cell, wherein said cell comprises: i) said TERT promoter nucleic acid operatively linked to said nucleic acid encoding said TERT; and ii) a mutant telomerase structural RNA component (TR) that imparts a detectable phenotype to said cell when said encoded TERT is expressed in said cell; and (b) evaluating said cell for said detectable phenotype to determine whether said agent modulates transcription control activity of said TERT promoter nucleic acid, wherein said detectable phenotype is at least one of cell death and the presence of a reporter sequence of said mutant TR in a newly synthesized telomere sequence.