#Kent's Thesis Defense ##Questions and Answers to Consider
###[Q1] - Is there any evidence for SLX4 involvement in ALT cancers? Or more specifically, do Fanconi patients have any increased/decreased incidence of ALT-cancers?
Our findings indicate that ALT-type cancers have an abundance of SLX4 localization to telomeres. Other members of our lab have found SLX4 knockdown results in substantial impairment of ALT-cell proliferation and colony survival. As ALT-type cancers typically have extremely long telomeres, we believe SLX4 may be involved in telomere maintenance in these cells. Thus, Fanconi patients with defects in SLX4/FANCP may be less likely to develop ALT-type cancers. However, the first FANCP patients have only been recently identified, and there is not much literature regarding the telomeric maintenance pathways in FANCP-related cancers.
###[Q2] - What kinds of cancers do SLX4 knockout mice develop? Is there any information about the telomeric maintenance pathways in these mice?
###[Q3] - Do SLX4