Lab-grown placental tissue to understand preeclampsia
Placental Organoids to Model Preeclampsia
This project will make miniature lab-grown placentas from donated cells to better understand what causes preeclampsia in pregnant people.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Cedars-Sinai Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Los Angeles, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11248035 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Researchers will turn donated cells (like skin cells) into stem cells and then grow three-dimensional placental tissue in the lab that mimics first-trimester placentas. They will create organoids from pregnancies with and without preeclampsia to compare how the tissues function and release proteins such as sFLT1 that can harm the mother. The team will use these organoids to study early disease processes that are hard to access in real pregnancies and to screen medicines that might correct harmful changes. This work uses donated human cells and lab-grown tissue rather than testing experimental treatments in pregnant people.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants would be people willing to donate tissue or cells (for example, skin or blood samples) from pregnancies affected by preeclampsia or from uncomplicated pregnancies for comparison.
Not a fit: People currently pregnant and seeking immediate treatments are unlikely to get direct benefit because this is lab-based research developing models and potential targets rather than a clinical therapy.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could reveal new drug targets or lab tests to help prevent or treat preeclampsia before it harms mother or baby.
How similar studies have performed: Organoid models have provided useful insights for other organs, but creating trophoblast placental organoids from patient-derived stem cells for preeclampsia is a relatively new and not yet widely used approach.
Where this research is happening
Los Angeles, United States
- Cedars-Sinai Medical Center — Los Angeles, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Karumanchi, S. Ananth — Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Karumanchi, S. Ananth
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.