Dexmedetomidine reverses lipopolysaccharide-induced leakage of blood–brain barrier. Four groups of randomly assigned mice (n = 5/group) were administered saline vehicle (control), lipopolysaccharide, lipopolysaccharide + dexmedetomidine, or yohimbine + lipopolysaccharide + dexmedetomidine. Six hours later, mice were euthanized, and whole brain (A) and hippocampus (B) were harvested for expression of albumin by immunoblotting. Data are expressed as means ± SD relative to control and were analyzed by one-way ANOVA and Tukey post hoc test. *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001; ****P < 0.0001 for comparisons shown. GAPDH, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase.