Increased sST2 levels decrease GVHD-associated mortality. (A) Lethally irradiated C57BL/6 mice (1000 cGy) received 5 × 106 BM cells from BALB/c donors (BM) or 5 × 106 BM cells plus 5 × 106 purified CD90.2+ T cells from BALB/c donors (BM+T), and sST2 concentration in the serum was measured on day 7 and day 14 after allo-HCT by ELISA. *P < .05. (B) Survival of WT C57BL/6 mice after allo-HCT with 5 × 106 BM cells and 8 × 105 WT T cells from BALB/c recipients performed as described. Mice received sST2-Fc or isotype control IgG as indicated. The experiment was performed twice and the data were pooled. (C) The mean value ± SEM for (i) serum IL-6 and (ii) IFN-γ detected by ELISA on day 8 after allo-HCT. The experiment was performed twice and the data were pooled. (D) Histopathologic GVHD severity of the intestines (i, ii) and liver (iii) isolated on day 8 from mice treated as described under panel (B) when quantified as mean + SEM. Data are pooled from 2 independent experiments.
