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World J Gastroenterol. Nov 28, 2025; 31(44): 112833
Published online Nov 28, 2025. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v31.i44.112833
Dexmedetomidine enhances anastomotic healing partly via the Wnt/β-catenin pathway in a rat model of colon surgery
Ying Chen, Chun-Tian Li, Jie-Bo Wang, Wen-Lu Tang, Yu Zhao, Ye Chen, Lian-Ming Liao, Liang-Cheng Zhang, Tian-Hua Lin, Zhi-Fang Cao
Ying Chen, Chun-Tian Li, Wen-Lu Tang, Yu Zhao, Tian-Hua Lin, Zhi-Fang Cao, Department of Anaesthesiology, Longyan First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Longyan 364000, Fujian Province, China
Jie-Bo Wang, Ye Chen, Liang-Cheng Zhang, Department of Anaesthesiology, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou 350000, Fujian Province, China
Lian-Ming Liao, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou 350000, Fujian Province, China
Co-first authors: Ying Chen and Chun-Tian Li.
Co-corresponding authors: Tian-Hua Lin and Zhi-Fang Cao.
Author contributions: Chen Y, Li CT and Lin TH conceived and designed the study; Chen Y, Li CT and Wang JB analyzed data; Tang WL, Zhao Y, Chen Y, Liao LM and Zhang LC provided support in the acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of data; Liao LM conducted the bioinformatic analysis; Liao LM, Chen Y, Li CT, Lin TH and Cao ZF wrote and revised the manuscript; all authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by the Fujian Province Natural Science Foundation, No. 2021J011438; and Longyan City Science and Technology Plan Project, No. 2022 LYF17099.
Institutional review board statement: The study does not involve any human experiments.
Institutional animal care and use committee statement: All procedures involving animals were reviewed and approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of the Guangzhou Boyao Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (No. IAEC-K-240314-02).
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
ARRIVE guidelines statement: The authors have read the ARRIVE guidelines, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the ARRIVE guidelines.
Data sharing statement: The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Tian-Hua Lin, MD, Doctor, Department of Anaesthesiology, Longyan First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, No. 105 Jiuyi North Road, Longyan 364000, Fujian Province, China. linthua2001@126.com
Received: August 7, 2025
Revised: September 28, 2025
Accepted: October 27, 2025
Published online: November 28, 2025
Processing time: 113 Days and 13.7 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: Dexmedetomidine (DEX), a selective α2-adrenergic agonist, significantly enhances anastomotic healing in rat models of colon surgery. Our study demonstrates that perioperative DEX administration improves intestinal barrier integrity by upregulating tight junction proteins (claudin-1/zonula occludens-1), reduces systemic inflammation (suppressed tumor necrosis factor-alpha/diamine oxidase/intestinal fatty acid-binding protein), and increases anastomotic burst pressure. Crucially, we identify activation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway as a novel mechanistic driver for DEX-mediated repair. These findings reveal DEX’s dual role in barrier protection and regeneration, supporting its potential as a perioperative adjuvant to mitigate anastomotic leakage risk in abdominal surgery.