New RNA-Based Tool Could Assess Preeclampsia Risk

Transcripts circulating in the blood provide real-time information about maternal, fetal, and placental health.

Written byAmanda Heidt

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ABOVE: RNA transcripts circulating in a mother’s blood provide information about maternal, fetal, and placental health and might one day be used to diagnose preeclampsia.
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The paper

S. Munchel et al., “Circulating transcripts in maternal blood reflect a molecular signature of early-onset preeclampsia,” Sci Transl Med, 12:eaaz0131, 2020.

Preeclampsia, a potentially fatal complication that affects roughly 5 percent of pregnancies worldwide, can only be diagnosed after the onset of symptoms such as high blood pressure, so treatment is always reactive. “The next really big need is better methods to diagnose or predict risk of pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia,” says Fiona Kaper, a senior director of scientific research at the biotech company Illumina.

To identify possible biomarkers of the condition, Kaper and her colleagues drew blood from 40 pregnant women with early-onset severe preeclampsia and 73 unaffected expecting mothers. Circulating in the blood of each mom-to-be is ...

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Meet the Author

Amanda Heidt
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Amanda first began dabbling in scicom as a master’s student studying marine science at Moss Landing Marine Labs, where she edited the student blog and interned at a local NPR station. She enjoyed that process of demystifying science so much that after receiving her degree in 2019, she went straight into a second master’s program in science communication at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Formerly an intern at The Scientist, Amanda joined the team as a staff reporter and editor in 2021 and oversaw the publication’s internship program, assigned and edited the Foundations, Scientist to Watch, and Short Lit columns, and contributed original reporting across the publication. Amanda’s stories often focus on issues of equity and representation in academia, and she brings this same commitment to DEI to the Science Writers Association of the Rocky Mountains and to the board of the National Association of Science Writers, which she has served on since 2022. She is currently based in the outdoor playground that is Moab, Utah. Read more of her work at www.amandaheidt.com.
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