SIRT4 is upregulated in breast cancer and promotes the proliferation, migration and invasion of breast cancer cells.

Several members of the SIRT family (SIRT1-7), a highly conserved family of NAD+-dependent enzymes, play an important role in tumor formation. Recently, several studies have suggested that SIRT4 may function as both a tumor oncogene and a tumor suppressor. However, its relationship with breast cancer remains unclear. We investigated SIRT4 protein levels in breast cancer and its possible association with selected clinicopathological parameters by immunohistochemical staining of a tissue microarray that included samples from 94 breast cancer patients. We further invested the effect of SIRT4 on the proliferation, migration and invasion of breast cancer cells. SIRT4 protein levels in breast were markedly higherthan their non-neoplastic tissue counterparts (P<0.001). Additionally, SIRT4 promoted the proliferation, migration and invasion of breast cancer cells. Our results show that SIRT4 possess oncogenic properties at the human cancer cell level and indicate that SIRT4 may participate in the development of breast cancer.