Quantitative and longitudinal assessment of human placental inflammation using diffusion basis spectrum imaging
Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Besides exchanging nutrients, gases, and wastes, placenta is an intermediary between maternal and fetal immune systems. However, no method exists to safely image and monitor placental inflammation during pregnancy. We customized a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) method, diffusion basis spectrum imaging (DBSI), to measure immune cells in placenta. We validated placental DBSI in simulations and ex-vivo specimens, then applied it to 202 MRI scans from 82 patients whose placentas were classified as non-inflammation (n = 70) or inflammation (n = 12). Our method imaged the 3D distribution of immune cells, revealing significantly greater infiltration in the inflammation placentas from early (2.8% ± 0.7% vs. 4.8% ± 0.65%, p < 0.01) to late pregnancy (4.75% ± 0.9% vs. 7.25% ± 2.13%, p < 0.01). DBSI detects elevated immune cell infiltration associated with placental inflammation and enables non-invasive imaging of placental inflammation, offering early detection and monitoring throughout pregnancy, facilitating personalized care and potentially improving pregnancy outcomes without ionizing radiation.
Source: npj Women s Health
Language: English
Subfield: Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,190
Funders: Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Berlin-Brandenburg School for Regenerative Therapies, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Awards: Applying Diffusion Basis Spectrum Imaging to Characterize Human Placenta Immuno-response during normal term and preterm pregnancies, Washington University - to advance development of a device for monitoring labor and explore new uses for the device, Washington University - to quantitatively and objectively define the myometrial electrical activity underlying uterine peristalsis in each phase of the menstrual cycle and..., G4940394123, Washington University - to develop a low-cost and portable electromyometrial imaging system for managing human labor, Quantitative Endogenous MRI Imaging of Neuroinflammation in AD, The three-dimensional spatiotemporal dynamics of human uterine contractions using electromyometrical imaging (EMMI)
OpenAlex ID: W4406021267