Tamoxifen inhibits fibroblast proliferation and prevents epidural fibrosis by regulating the AKT pathway in rats

Highlights: • TAM inhibited fibroblast viability and arrested cell cycle. • TAM regulated p-AKT and it's downstream protein expression. • TAM could inhibit fibroblast proliferation and prevent epidural fibrosis in rats. • TAM downregulated p-AKT expression in epidural scar tissue in rats. Many factors contribute to epidural fibrosis after lumbar laminectomy, particularly the excessive proliferation of fibroblasts. Many studies have shown that tamoxifen (TAM) inhibits fibroblast proliferation and reduces fibrosis, but the detailed effect and mechanism of TAM on preventing epidural fibrosis are unknown. To investigate the effect of TAM on fibroblast proliferation and epidural fibrosis, fibroblasts were cultured and treated with different concentrations of TAM. Cell Counting Kit-8(CCK-8) detection, cell cycle analysis and western blot analysis were used to detect the roles of TAM in regulating fibroblast proliferation. Lumbar laminectomies were performed in rats, and various concentrations of TAM were administered by gavage. Histological and immunohistochemical analyses were used to evaluate the effects of TAM on preventing epidural fibrosis. CCK-8 detection showed that TAM could inhibit fibroblast viability; western blot analysis showed that TAM could decrease the expression of proliferative proteins p-AKT and cyclinD1 and increase the expression of antiproliferative proteins P21 and P27. Histological analysis showed that TAM could reduce epidural fibrosis. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that the p-ATK expression in epidural scar tissue was decreased after TAM treatment. The present study demonstrated that TAM could inhibit fibroblast proliferation and prevent epidural fibrosis, potentially through the regulation of the AKT pathway.