§ Claim under review · Study
"Scientists in a dermatology lab, while researching why autoimmune diseases are more common in women, identified a potential genetic driver behind preeclampsia that could point the way to a cure." (Instagram post image text: "The breakthrough that could end preeclampsia")
Verdict
Mostly accurate
Confidence
HighSummary
This post accurately describes a real study. Researchers led by dermatologist Johann Gudjonsson at the University of Michigan were investigating why autoimmune diseases are more common in women, found a gene called VGLL3 that is more active in female skin and in lupus patients, and then discovered it is also elevated in placentas from women with preeclampsia. The findings were published in the journal Circulation. In mice, deleting the gene prevented preeclampsia-like disease, and in donated human placental tissue treated in the lab, a drug that blocks the related signaling pathway reversed some disease features. The important caveat is that no pregnant person has been treated, so this is a promising target rather than an existing cure. The word "genetic" is also slightly off, because the finding is about how active the gene is in the placenta rather than an inherited mutation. The graphic's phrase "could end preeclampsia" is stronger than what the evidence currently supports, though the caption itself is appropriately hedged.
The readings
key figures from the evidencepregnancies affected by preeclampsia
Why this verdict
Evidence
The study exists, is peer reviewed, and is accurately characterized in broad strokes by the post. Through human single-cell and spatial analyses, coupled with in vitro, in vivo, and ex vivo models, the authors demonstrate that VGLL3, a transcription coregulator in the Hippo pathway, is upregulated in preeclamptic placentas, and report that VGLL3 promotes immune activation, impairs trophoblast differentiation, and induces endothelial dysfunction, all of which contribute to pregnancy-related hypertension, fetal growth restriction, and offspring mortality.
The data indicate VGLL3 acts upstream of preeclampsia-associated processes, including production of sFLT1, a key biomarker of the disease.
The dermatology origin story is confirmed by the authors' institution. The research began over seven years ago when Gudjonsson's team was examining skin data sets and identified the transcriptional coregulator VGLL3, observing that it was expressed in both female and male skin but with higher expression in female skin cells, and was strongly upregulated in the skin of patients with lupus and systemic sclerosis.
The connection to preeclampsia emerged during a brief hallway conversation at the University of Michigan.
On the therapeutic angle: when the team targeted VGLL3, either by deleting the gene in mouse placentas or by modulating Hippo signaling in human placenta samples from mothers with preeclampsia, they were able to prevent or reverse key features of preeclampsia without affecting maternal or fetal health.
The gene does not appear to be required for healthy pregnancy, which the lead author says means it could potentially be safely targeted.
Findings
✓ What's accurate 5
- A dermatology lab is genuinely the origin. Gudjonsson is a dermatologist and immunology professor at the University of Michigan, and the VGLL3 line of work started in skin datasets.
- The autoimmune sex-bias framing is accurate. VGLL3 was first flagged for its female-biased expression in skin and its upregulation in lupus and systemic sclerosis .
- A specific gene was identified. Researchers have identified a gene, VGLL3, which seems to cause cells in the placenta to go haywire.
- The work is real, peer reviewed, and published in a high-tier cardiology journal.
- The hedged wording in the caption ("potential," "could point the way") matches the hedging used by the researchers and the source article.
≈ What's misleading 4
- Imprecise terminology: the phrase "genetic driver" implies an inherited DNA variant or mutation. The finding is about dysregulated expression of a gene, not a heritable mutation. The paper describes VGLL3 as a transcription coregulator that is upregulated in preeclamptic placentas. The authors' own institution uses the more accurate phrase "molecular driver." This is a mild exaggeration of specificity rather than a fabrication.
- Temporal overreach in the image text: "The breakthrough that could end preeclampsia" is considerably stronger than the caption and stronger than the underlying evidence. No human has been treated. The therapeutic evidence is mouse knockout plus drug treatment of donated placental tissue in a dish.
- Species and setting extrapolation risk: a reasonable reader could take "point the way to a cure" as implying a treatment is near. The verteporfin result is ex vivo tissue, not a demonstration of safety or efficacy in pregnant patients.
- Single-cause framing: the post implies one underlying cause has been found. Preeclampsia is generally understood as heterogeneous, and the paper positions VGLL3 as sitting upstream of and coalescing multiple known pathways rather than replacing them.
? What's uncertain 4
- Whether targeting VGLL3 is safe or effective in actual human pregnancy. No clinical trial evidence exists. Verteporfin is not established as safe in pregnancy.
- Replication. The single-cell human cohort is small, with three healthy and eight preeclamptic placentas, and independent replication by other groups was not found.
- Independent expert reaction. I was not able to retrieve commentary from researchers outside the study team, so the assessment relies on the paper, the authors' institution, and coverage.
- Whether VGLL3 explains all preeclampsia subtypes, including early onset versus late onset disease.
Sources
5 of 5 linked to recordsPlazyo, Chopp, Ganesh, Tsoi, Gudjonsson et al., "Defective Trophoblast Differentiation, Endothelial Dysfunction, and Immune Dysregulation in Preeclampsia Coalesce on a Placental VGLL3-Centered Gene Network," Circulation, DOI 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.125.076218
bioRxiv preprint of the same work, "VGLL3-centered network connects placental, vascular, and immune defects in preeclampsia" (May 2025)
Michigan Medicine Health Lab, "Researchers discover what may be the root cause of preeclampsia, and how to fix it"
National Geographic, "The breakthrough that could end preeclampsia, a leading cause of maternal deaths"
WILX local news report on the University of Michigan finding