Proper activation of macrophages (Mφ) in the inflammatory phase of acute wound healing is essential for physiological tissue repair. However, there is a strong indication that robust Mφ inflammatory responses may be causal for the fibrotic response always accompanying adult wound healing. Using a complementary approach of in vitro and in vivo studies, we here addressed the question of whether mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)-due to their anti-inflammatory properties-would control Mφ activation and tissue fibrosis in a murine model of full-thickness skin wounds. We have shown that the tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)-stimulated protein 6 (TSG-6) released from MSCs in co-culture with activated Mφ or following injection into wound margins suppressed the release of TNF-α from activated Mφ and concomitantly induced a switch from a high to an anti-fibrotic low transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1)/TGF-β3 ratio. This study provides insight into what we believe to be a previously undescribed multifaceted role of MSC-released TSG-6 in wound healing. MSC-released TSG-6 was identified to improve wound healing by limiting Mφ activation, inflammation, and fibrosis. TSG-6 and MSC-based therapies may thus qualify as promising strategies to enhance tissue repair and to prevent excessive tissue fibrosis.

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BackgroundLonger nephrology care before end-stage renal disease (ESRD) has been linked with better outcomes.MethodsWe investigated whether longer pre-end-stage renal disease (ESRD) nephrology care was associated with lower mortality at both the patient and state levels among 443 761 incident ESRD patients identified in the USA between 2006 and 2010.ResultsOverall, 33% of new ESRD patients had received no prior nephrology care, while 28% had received care for >12 months. At the patient level, predictors of >12 months of nephrology care included having health insurance, white race, younger age, diabetes, hypertension and US region. Longer pre-ESRD nephrology care was associated with lower first-year mortality (adjusted hazard ratio = 0.58 for >12 months versus no care; 95% confidence interval 0.57–0.59), higher albumin and hemoglobin, choice of peritoneal dialysis and native fistula and discussion of transplantation options. Living in a state with a 10% higher proportion of patients receiving >12 months of pre-ESRD care was associated with a 9.3% lower relative mortality rate, standardized for case mix (R2 = 0.47; P < 0.001).ConclusionsThis study represents the largest cohort of incident ESRD patients to date. Although we did not follow patients before ESRD onset, our findings, both at the individual patient and state levels, reflect the importance of early nephrology care among those with chronic kidney disease.

The results of the searches for neutral Higgs boson production in the process e+e---+ Z* Ho are reported, focusing on Higgs boson masses below 70 GeV. The data sample consists of three million hadronic Z" decays collected by the L3 experiment at LEP from 1991 through 1994. No signal is found leading to a lower limit on the mass of the Standard Model Higgs boson of 60.2 GeV at 95% C.L.These results are also interpreted in the framework of the General Two Doublet Model and limits on the nonstandard Higgs boson production through the process e + -e 4 Z* ho are set. A lower limit of 66.7 GeV at 95% CL. is obtained for the case where the Higgs decays into an invisible final state.

0370-2693r98r$ -see front matter q 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.Ž . PII: S 0 3 7 0 -2 6 9 3 9 8 0 0 7 3 6 -9 ( ) M. Acciarri et al.r Physics Letters B 434 1998 169- AbstractWe analyse e q e y ™ ttg events using 100 pb y1 of data collected by the L3 experiment during the 1991-1995 LEP runs at the Z pole. From the energy of the photons and their isolation from the tau decay products, we determine the anomalous magnetic and electric dipole moments of the tau to be, respectively: a s 0.004 " 0.027 " 0.023; t d s 0.0 " 1.5 " 1.3 = 10 y16 e P cm. Ž .t This is a direct measurement of these t form factors at q 2 s 0. q 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.