Background and Aims Since hyperglycemia promotes inflammation by different pathways and inflammation participates in the development of chronic diabetes complications, we investigated the association between the leukotriene (LT) pathway and microvascular diabetes complications. Methods and Results Quantitative polymerase chain reaction was employed to quantify the expression of ALOX5 (encodes 5-lipoxygenase), LTB4R (encodes one of the LTB4 receptors), and MYD88 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 164 type 1 diabetes (T1D) individuals presenting or not diabetes kidney disease, retinopathy, peripheral neuropathy, and cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy (CAN); 26 nondiabetic subjects were included as controls. LTB4 plasmatic concentrations were also evaluated. The expression of LTB4R was significantly higher in T1D individuals than in controls. T1D individuals with microvascular complications presented lower MYD88 mRNA expression when compared to those without microvascular complications. Higher LTB4 concentrations were found in individuals with CAN versus without CAN. The observation of two distinct subgroups of T1D individuals in the correlation analyses motivated us to evaluate the characteristics of each one of these groups separately. The group presenting higher expression of ALOX5 and of LTB4R also presented higher values of HbA1C, of fructosamine, and of plasmatic LTB4. Conclusion In the diabetes setting, the LT pathway is not only activated by hyperglycemia but is also modulated by the status of the autonomic nervous system. Copyright © 2020 Daniele P. Santos-Bezerra et al.Background The enlargement of lymph nodes is a common clinical sign in connective tissue disease (CTD) and viral hepatitis. In this research, we evaluated the incidence of enlarged lymph nodes in autoimmune liver diseases (AILD). Moreover, we identified the clinical significance of abdominal lymph node enlargement in AILD. Methods The characteristics of abdominal lymph nodes, including their morphology and distribution, were assessed by ultrasonography and computed tomography in 125 patients with AILD, 54 with viral hepatitis, 135 with CTD, and 80 healthy controls. The pathological and laboratory results of 106 AILD patients were collected to analyze the association between lymphadenectasis and disease activity.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/valproic-acid.html  Results Enlargement of abdominal lymph nodes was found in 69.6% of patients with AILD, 63% of patients with viral hepatitis, 29.6% of patients with CTD, and 2% of healthy controls. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP), glutamate transpeptidase (GGT), and immunoglobulin M (IgM) levels were significantly increased in AILD patients with lymphadenectasis (LA) in contrast to patients without lymphadenectasis (NLA) (P less then 0.05). The pathological characteristics of inflammation, cholestasis, and focal necrosis were more common in the LA group than in the NLA group (P less then 0.05). As shown by multivariate logistic regression analysis, interface hepatitis (OR = 3.651, P less then 0.05), cholestasis (OR = 8.137, P less then 0.05), and focal necrosis (OR = 5.212, P less then 0.05) were related to LA. Conclusions The percentage of abdominal lymph node enlargement in AILD subjects was significantly higher than that in CTD subjects. Therefore, the enlargement of lymph nodes can represent a noninvasive indicator of histological and biochemical inflammation activity in AILD. Copyright © 2020 Yongjuan Wang et al.Purpose Limited research has been published on the effect of piezo-assisted intracytoplasmic sperm injection (P-ICSI). We evaluated the effect of P-ICSI on the laboratory, clinical, and neonatal outcomes. Methods This retrospective study was based on the data collected between April 2011 and October 2016. Total 1348 mature oocytes from 145 patients were analyzed. Laboratory, clinical, and neonatal outcomes of those given conventional intracytoplasmic sperm injection (C-ICSI) and those administered P-ICSI were examined. Results P-ICSI showed significantly more favorable results, with a survival rate of 97.0% (C-ICSI 94.1%, P  less then  .010) and a fertilization rate of 83.5% (C-ICSI 70.6%, P  less then  .001). There were no differences in the blastocyst development rate, implantation rate, miscarriage rate, live birth rate, gestational age, birth weight, proportion of male neonates, cesarean section rate, and congenital abnormalities between the two patient groups. Conclusions Our comparison of P-ICSI with C-ICSI showed that P-ICSI significantly improved the survival and fertilization. © 2020 The Authors. Reproductive Medicine and Biology published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Japan Society for Reproductive Medicine.Purpose Resveratrol is a well-known potent activator of sirtuin-1 (SIRT1). We investigated the direct effects of hypoxia and resveratrol on SIRT1/ peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator 1α (PGC-1α) pathways, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α, and mitochondrial quantity in a steroidogenic human ovarian granulosa-like tumor cell line (KGN) cells. Methods KGN cells were cultured with cobalt chloride (CoCl2; a hypoxia-mimicking agent) and/or resveratrol. The mRNA and protein levels, protein secretion, and intracellular localization were assessed by real-time PCR, Western blot analysis, ELISA, and immunofluorescence staining, respectively. Mitochondrial quantity was measured based on the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number. Results CoCl2 simultaneously attenuated the levels of SIRT1 and mtDNA expression, and induced the levels of VEGF protein production. In contrast, resveratrol significantly increased the levels of SIRT1 and mtDNA copy number, but reduced VEGF production in normoxia. Resveratrol could recover CoCl2-suppressed SIRT1 and mtDNA expression and antagonize CoCl2-induced VEGF production. CoCl2 treatment resulted in a downregulation of PGC-1α expression, and this effect was recovered by resveratrol. Resveratrol significantly suppressed the production of the CoCl2-induced HIF-1α and VEGF proteins. Conclusion These results suggest that resveratrol improves mitochondrial quantity by activating the SIRT1/PGC-1α pathway and inhibits VEGF induction through HIF-1α under hypoxic conditions. © 2020 The Authors. Reproductive Medicine and Biology published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Japan Society for Reproductive Medicine.