A non-invasive way to detect inflammation linked to intra-uterine infection (chorioamnionitis), preterm birth and preeclampsia has been developed by a team of researchers, led by Dr Sean Carter – a PhD student with the Women and Infants Research Foundation (WIRF) and National University of Singapore.
The team developed a new blood test that could help doctors detect serious pregnancy complications – such as chorioamnionitis and preeclampsia – early, before symptoms appear.
These complications are often linked to inflammation and can lead to premature birth or serious health issues for both mother and baby. However, current tools for spotting them early in pregnancy are limited or invasive.
In this study, published in Reproductive Sciences in June 2025, researchers tested a new approach using cell-free RNA (cfRNA) found in a pregnant woman’s blood. These are tiny fragments of genetic material that can provide a real-time insight into what’s happening inside the womb – without needing invasive procedures.
To develop the test, the team first worked with pregnant sheep, which have similar pregnancies to humans. Some sheep were given a substance that caused inflammation in the womb, either from an infection or from a sterile trigger (meaning no bacteria were involved). The researchers then collected blood samples and looked for specific cell-free RNA markers linked to inflammation.
Using a type of artificial intelligence (called a Random Forest algorithm), they identified a set of eight cell-free RNA markers that clearly separated the animals with inflammation from those without. The findings were remarkably accurate, even in cases where the inflammation wasn’t caused by a bacterial infection.
Next, the researchers tested the same method in human pregnancies. They collected blood from women who had developed late onset preeclampsia (a serious high blood pressure condition during pregnancy) and from women with healthy pregnancies. The test was able to correctly identify signs of inflammation from as early as the first trimester – with high accuracy across all stages of pregnancy.
Dr Carter said the test could potentially offer a safe, simple, and early warning system for pregnancy complications that currently go undetected until much later, when treatment options are more limited.
“While more research and larger human trials are still needed, this study is a promising step toward a future where a routine blood test could help protect mothers and babies from some of pregnancy’s most serious risks,” said Dr Carter.
Read the full study Predictive Screening for Inflammatory Disorders of Pregnancy Using Targeted Maternal Cell-Free RNA Assays: Proof-of-Principle Data from Large Animal and Human Cohorts published in Springer Nature on 4 June 2025.
This research was supported by grants from The Channel 7 Telethon Trust, The Department of Health, Government of Western Australia, The Stan Perron Charitable Foundation, The National University of Singapore, The Ministry of Education, Government of Singapore and the General Sir John Monash Foundation.
It was carried out in collaboration with the Women and Infants Research Foundation, National University of Singapore; Institute of Bioengineering and Bioimaging, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore; Guangzhou Medical University; The University of Western Australia; Tohoku University Hospital; Cardiff University; Center for Biomedical Research and Innovation, Universidad de los Andes, Santiago, Chile; and IMPACT, Center of Interventional Medicine for Precision and Advanced Cellular Therapy, Santiago, Chile.
Dr Carter (pictured below with Dr Erin Fee) was recently awarded the Japanese Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (JSOG) Congress Encouragement Award for his presentation focussed on this study. The award was presented at the 77th Annual Congress of the JSOG held in Okayama in May. Congratulations to Dr Carter on this outstanding achievement.
