# Applying Diffusion Basis Spectrum Imaging to Characterize Human Placenta Immuno-response during normal term and preterm pregnancies

> **NIH NIH R01** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $607,147

## Abstract

Summary/Abstract
An important cause of preterm labor is immune infiltration into the placenta. Although the placental immune
response likely starts long before delivery, no technique currently available permits in vivo, real-time
assessment of placental immune responses during pregnancy. As a result, clinicians have limited ability to
detect placental inflammation or intervene so as to reduce the immune response and prevent preterm
delivery. This R01 application proposes to develop a novel, noninvasive human placental immune imaging
(PII) technique, which will be able to safely assess human placental inflammation in real time, responding
to RFA-HD-18-003: Moving Beyond Standard Assessments: Applying Novel Tools to Assess Human
Placental Structure and Function in Real Time. PII will be based on a diffusion magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI) technique called diffusion basis spectrum imaging, which can noninvasively image and quantify brain
inflammation in multiple sclerosis in both animal models and human patients. Development of PII must take
into account the fact that the human placenta is quite different from animal placentas and is a very
dynamically changing organ throughout pregnancy. The anatomic and potential pathological complexity and
heterogeneity of the placenta create strong background noise interference not present in the brain, making
it more challenging to identify and extract the signals specific to placental inflammation. To address this
technical challenge, this proposal will develop PII specifically for human applications by making use of three
distinct clinical cohorts: those at low risk of preterm birth (Aim 1), and those at high risk of preterm birth who
either respond or fail to respond to treatment to prevent preterm birth (Aims 2 and 3). In addition to
performing PII on these women at two (Aims 2 and 3) or three (Aim 1) time points in pregnancy, this proposal
includes measurement of immune factors and long non-coding RNAs in maternal blood, and histological
characterization of inflammatory cells in placenta samples obtained at delivery. Completion of these aims
will 1) yield a fully developed PII system, 2) refine PII through histopathological assessments of placentas
and measures of systemic immune responses, 3) define the placental immune responses characteristic of
healthy, term pregnancy, 4) identify placental immune responses characteristic of pregnancies at risk of
preterm birth, and 5) begin to reveal immune signatures associated with success and failure of progesterone
treatment. Because PII will require MRI sequences that are already approved by the Food and Drug
Administration, its safety and great accessibility will allow it to be rapidly extended to clinical trials or clinical
populations.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10102143
- **Project number:** 5R01HD094381-04
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** ALISON G CAHILL
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $607,147
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-02-16 → 2023-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10102143

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10102143, Applying Diffusion Basis Spectrum Imaging to Characterize Human Placenta Immuno-response during normal term and preterm pregnancies (5R01HD094381-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10102143. Licensed CC0.

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