Objective To investigate the impact of dexmedetomidine on epidural fibrosis after spinal surgery in rats through the transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) signaling pathway.
Methods A total of 40 rats were selected, with 10 rats assigned to control group. The remaining 30 rats underwent spinal surgery modeling and were randomly divided into model group, dexmedetomidine group, and dexmedetomidine + TGF-β1 agonist group, with 10 rats in each. Rats with unsuccessful modeling were excluded, resulting in 9 rats in each group for subsequent analysis. Pathological characteristics of epidural scar tissue, fibroblast count, PCNA-positive cell expression rate, levels of inflammatory markersinterleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β, IL-8, stress response indicatorsmalondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and expression levels of mRNAs and proteins related to the TGF-β1 signaling pathway were observed and compared among the groups.
Results Compared with the control group, the other three groups showed increased fibroblast count, elevated PCNA-positive cell expression rate, higher levels of IL-6, IL-1β, IL-8, and MDA, lower SOD levels, and increased expression levels of TGF-β1 mRNA, Smad3 mRNA, and TGF-β1 and Smad3 proteins, with statistically significant differences (P < 0.05). Compared with the model group, both the dexmedetomidine group and the dexmedetomidine + TGF-β1 agonist group exhibited decreased fibroblast count, reduced PCNA-positive cell expression rate, lower levels of IL-6, IL-1β, IL-8 and MDA, higher SOD levels, and decreased expression levels of TGF-β1 mRNA, Smad3 mRNA, and TGF-β1 and Smad3 proteins, with statistically significant differences (P < 0.05). Compared with the dexmedetomidine group, the dexmedetomidine + TGF-β1 agonist group showed increased fibroblast count, elevated PCNA-positive cell expression rate, higher levels of IL-6, IL-1β, IL-8 and MDA, lower SOD levels, and increased expression levels of TGF-β1 mRNA, Smad3 mRNA, and TGF-β1 and Smad3 proteins, with statistically significant differences (P < 0.05).
Conclusion Dexmedetomidine can significantly alleviate the inflammatory response and stress response after spinal surgery in rats and reduce postoperative epidural fibrosis by inhibiting the TGF-β1 signaling pathway.
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