Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 22, 2026
Development of Compendium for Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Published on: April 12, 2024
Downregulation of SIRT4 Expression Is Associated with Poor Prognosis in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Yujiro Nakahara1, Makoto Yamasaki, Genta Sawada
1Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Suita, Japan.
Objective:
SIRT4, a mitochondria-localized sirtuin, represses glutamine metabolism by inhibiting glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH). The current study aimed to evaluate the clinical and biological significance of SIRT4 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).
Methods:
The study comprised 172 patients with surgically resected ESCC in two independent cohorts. SIRT4 mRNA expression was analyzed in Cohort 1 (n = 79) and SIRT4 protein expression in Cohort 2 (n = 93). The association of SIRT4 expression with clinicopathological parameters and prognosis was assessed. Furthermore, the biological role of SIRT4 in ESCC cell lines was examined.
Results:
SIRT4 expression was not correlated with any clinicopathological parameters in both cohorts. In Cohort 1, low-SIRT4-expression cases had poorer overall survival than high-SIRT4-expression cases (p = 0.016). In Cohort 2, SIRT4-negative cases had poorer overall survival and disease-free survival than SIRT4-positive cases (p = 0.011 and 0.0026). Multivariate analysis revealed that SIRT4 expression was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival (HR = 2.06, p = 0.038). The rate of distant recurrence was significantly higher in SIRT4-negative cases than in SIRT4-positive cases (39.4 vs. 7.4%; p = 0.0023). In vitro, SIRT4 knockdown significantly increased GDH activity and promoted cell proliferation and migration.
Conclusion:
SIRT4 is a potential prognostic biomarker in ESCC.
