Early prediction of preeclampsia in pregnancy with cell-free RNA

Abstract Liquid biopsies that measure circulating cell-free RNA (cfRNA) offer an opportunity to study the development of pregnancy-related complications in a non-invasive manner and to bridge gaps in clinical care 1–4 . Here we used 404 blood samples from 199 pregnant mothers to identify and validate cfRNA transcriptomic changes that are associated with preeclampsia, a multi-organ syndrome that is the second largest cause of maternal death globally 5 . We find that changes in cfRNA gene expression between normotensive and preeclamptic mothers are marked and stable early in gestation, well before the onset of symptoms. These changes are enriched for genes specific to neuromuscular, endothelial and immune cell…

• NS
  National Science Foundation

  Awards: DGE 1656518, 1656518
• MO
  March of Dimes Foundation
• SB
  Stanford Bio-X
• CE
  Chemistry, Engineering and Medicine for Human Health, Stanford University