On Dec. 11, 2024, University of Pennsylvania Engineers announced they had made a critical breakthrough that bridges a major healthy equity gap for pregnant people with pre-eclampsia, a condition that arises due to insufficient blood flow to the placenta and results in high maternal blood pressure and restricted blood flow to the fetus. 

Previous research included a successful proof-of-concept study that examined a library of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), the delivery molecules that helped get the mRNA of the COVID vaccine into cells, and their ability to reach the placenta in pregnant mice.

In this study, pre-eclampsia was induced in pregnant mice. After the team screened and analyzed their 98 LNP library to determine which would be the best at delivering mRNA to the placenta, they took one LNP forward, injecting the pre-eclamptic mice with the minimum effective dose once at day 11 of their 20-day gestation. This one-time injection cured pre-eclamptic mice until the end of pregnancy. But now the team must explore how many doses would be needed to treat the condition in larger animals and humans.

Pre-eclampsia is one of the leading causes of stillbirths and prematurity worldwide, and it occurs in 3 to 5% of pregnancies. Pregnant people diagnosed with pre-eclampsia early in pregnancy face higher risks for themselves and their babies, including severe health issues and death