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Updated: Feb 8, 2026
Burn Injury-Induced Pain and Depression-Like Behavior in Mice
Published on: September 29, 2021
Increased serum concentrations of soluble ST2 predict mortality after burn injury
Stefan Hacker1,2, Benjamin Dieplinger3, Gregor Werba4
1Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Background:
Large burn injuries induce a systemic response in affected patients. Soluble ST2 (sST2) acts as a decoy receptor for interleukin-33 (IL-33) and has immunosuppressive effects. sST2 has been described previously as a prognostic serum marker. Our aim was to evaluate serum concentrations of sST2 and IL-33 after thermal injury and elucidate whether sST2 is associated with mortality in these patients.
Methods:
We included 32 burn patients (total body surface area [TBSA] >10%) admitted to our burn intensive care unit and compared them to eight healthy probands. Serum concentrations of sST2 and IL-33 were measured serially using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique.
Results:
The mean TBSA was 32.5%±19.6%. Six patients (18.8%) died during the hospital stay. Serum analyses showed significantly increased concentrations of sST2 and reduced concentrations of IL-33 in burn patients compared to healthy controls. In our study cohort, higher serum concentrations of sST2 were a strong independent predictor of mortality.
Conclusions:
Burn injuries cause an increment of sST2 serum concentrations with a concomitant reduction of IL-33. Higher concentrations of sST2 are associated with increased in-hospital mortality in burn patients.
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