The human complement inhibitor Sushi Domain-Containing Protein 4 (SUSD4) expression in tumor cells and infiltrating T cells is associated with better prognosis of breast cancer patients

Background: The human Sushi Domain-Containing Protein 4 (SUSD4) was recently shown to function as a novel inhibitor of the complement system, but its role in tumor progression is unknown.

Methods: Using immunohistochemistry and quantitative PCR, we investigated SUSD4 expression in breast cancer tissue samples from two cohorts. The effect of SUSD4 expression on cell migration and invasion was studied in vitro using two human breast cancer cell lines overexpressing SUSD4.

Results: Tissue stainings revealed that both tumor cells and tumor-infiltrating cells expressed SUSD4. The highest SUSD4 expression was detected in differentiated tumors with decreased rate of metastasis, and SUSD4 expression was associated with improved survival of the patients. Moreover, forced SUSD4 expression in human breast cancer cells attenuated their migratory and invasive traits in culture. SUSD4 expression also inhibited colony formation of human breast cancer cells cultured on carcinoma-associated fibroblasts. Furthermore, large numbers of SUSD4-expressing T cells in the tumor stroma associated with better overall survival of the breast cancer patients.

Conclusion: Our findings indicate that SUSD4 expression in both breast cancer cells and T cells infiltrating the tumor-associated stroma is useful to predict better prognosis of breast cancer patients.