Abstract

Background: Tamoxifen is an effective drug for breast cancer treatment and its side effects are the production of reactive oxygen species and kidney damage. As antioxidants, vitamins E and D may help decrease kidney dysfunction.

Objectives: In the present study, the protective effects of vitamins E and D on renal toxicity caused by tamoxifen in female Wistar rats were investigated.

Materials and Methods: Twenty-five adult female rats weighing 180-200 were randomly divided into five groups with 5 rats. Group C, T, TE, TD, and TED were treated with olive oil, tamoxifen, tamoxifen + vitamin E, tamoxifen +vitamin D, and tamoxifen + both vitamins for four weeks. ELISA Kits measured the oxidant and antioxidant tests and TNF-α in kidney tissue. The spectrophotometric method measured urea, uric acid, and creatinine in serum and urine.

Results: Tamoxifen significantly decreased the weight of rats, GPx, CAT, SOD levels and increased TNF-α, urinary creatinine level and, serum uric acid, urea levels (P < 0.05). But, treatment with vitamin D and simultaneous administration of vitamins led to a significant decrease in the level of (TNF-α) compared to the tamoxifen group (p < 0.01). Also, the histopathology results showed that the simultaneous administration of vitamins has significantly resolved the damage caused by the use of tamoxifen.

Conclusion: The present study's findings showed that using vitamins E and D prevents kidney damage through antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. In addition, using vitamins E and D probably showed stronger synergistic effects against kidney damage.

Keywords: Tamoxifen, oxidative stress, vitamin E, vitamin D, TNF-α, kidney.