Hijiyama University

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) exert their anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic effects by secreting various humoral factors. Interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) can enhance these effects of MSCs, and enhancement of regulatory T (Treg) cell induction is thought to be an underlying mechanism. However, the extent to which Treg cell induction by MSCs pretreated with IFN-γ (IFN-γ MSCs) ameliorates renal fibrosis remains unknown. In this study, we investigated the effects of Treg cell induction by IFN-γ MSCs on renal inflammation and fibrosis using an siRNA knockdown system. Administration of IFN-γ MSCs induced Treg cells and inhibited infiltration of inflammatory cells in ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI) rats more drastically than control MSCs without IFN-γ pretreatment. In addition, administration of IFN-γ MSCs more significantly attenuated renal fibrosis compared with control MSCs. Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) expression levels in conditioned medium from MSCs were enhanced by IFN-γ pretreatment. Moreover, IDO1 knockdown in IFN-γ MSCs reduced their anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic effects in IRI rats by reducing Treg cell induction. Our findings suggest that the increase of Treg cells induced by enhanced secretion of IDO by IFN-γ MSCs played a pivotal role in their anti-fibrotic effects. Administration of IFN-γ MSCs may potentially be a useful therapy to prevent renal fibrosis progression.

Abstract Previous research on individual social class (SC) and humor has found support for the hypothesis that those with higher SC engage in dominant and selfish humor (aggressive humor). This hypothesis is based on the well-known theory that people with high SC are selfish, but there are mixed findings regarding this theoretical perspective. In this study, SC was measured by objective measures (income and educational attainment) and subjective measures (perceived social status) and examined in relation to humor. Previous research on SC and humor has been limited, focusing only on the limited dimensions of humor (aggressive and affiliative humor). In the present study, four types of humor assessed by the Humor Styles Questionnaire and two types of humor measured by the Dual Self-Directed Humor Scale were taken into account to learn more about the relationship between SC and humor. Study 1 (N = 344) and Study 2 (N = 604) consistently showed that SC and aggressive humor are not related, and the findings of previous studies were not replicated. Rather, SC was shown to be positively associated with adaptive humor, such as other-oriented humor and humor for coping with stress.

The aim of the present study was to determine whether two types of teacher humor (Aggressive Humor and Affinity Humor) are predictors of students' mental health. A self-report scale was administered to 500 elementary and junior high school students in grades 4 to 9 (mean age 12.04, SD = 1.76) asking questions about perceived teacher humor, stress response, emotional well-being, and self-esteem. Aggressive humor was a significant positive predictor of stress response and a significant negative predictor of emotional well-being. Affinity humor was a significant positive predictor of emotional well-being and self-esteem. These results suggest that the teacher's humor is related to students' mental health. We conclude that teachers should refrain from using aggressive humor as much as possible in favor of affinity humor.

Ekmanら（1975）は，表情の普遍性を主張しながらも，家庭や環境，文化等によって，後天的に学習する“知識”として位置付けている。また，自閉症者のソーシャルスキルは，年齢と経験により変化すると考えられている（Baron-Cohen, 2017）。

We explored the relationship between four types of forced laughter (expression control, intimacy maintenance, action control, and affect manipulation) and mental health as well as the mediating effects of social support and self-concept clarity. The Forced Laughter Scale (FLS), General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MPSS), and Self-Concept Clarity Scale (SCC) were completed by 184 (63 male, 119 female) Japanese university students. The results of investigating the relationships between the four types of forced laughter and mental health demonstrated that expression control had a negative correlation with mental health, while intimacy maintenance had a positive correlation. Affect manipulation and action control did not demonstrate significant correlations. Mediation analysis revealed that the negative correlation between expression control and mental health can be explained by a low level of perceived social support and self-concept clarity. Conversely, it was revealed that the positive correlation between intimacy maintenance and mental health can be explained by a high level of perceived social support. This study found that forced laughter in daily life can have both positive and negative correlations with mental health depending on the situation in which one forces a laugh and their intention for doing so.