Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

November 05, 2025

06/11/2025

Scripps Research team identifies sugar molecules that trigger placental formation Study reveals how sugar-protein interactions are critical for the placenta during early pregnancy, shedding light on complications like preeclampsia and restricted fetal growth.

November 05, 2025

LA JOLLA, CA During the first weeks of pregnancy, the developing placenta in a mother's womb undergoes a dramatic change. Individual cells merge, forming a continuous barrier that will spend the next nine months ferrying oxygen and nutrients to the growing fetus while keeping the mothers immune system at bay. When this structure fails to form properly, pregnancies are at higher risk of complications, including preeclampsia and restricted fetal growth.

Now, scientists at Scripps Research have identified a key player in the placenta's transformation a molecule called galectin-3 that binds to sugar molecules on specific cell surface proteins, likely holding placental cells tightly together to fuse.

The research, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on November 4, 2025, not only illuminates an important mechanism in placental development but also demonstrates the power of a new technique for mapping the fleeting interactions between proteins and sugars.

Scripps Research scientists developed a method to see where sugar-binding proteins like galectin-3 (purple) were attaching to cells by adding a tagging enzyme (beige). Credit: Scripps Research

Click here for a high-resolution image. We were able to really zoom in and show that one protein and its sugar modification is critical for the biology of the placenta, says senior author Mia Huang, professor of chemistry at Scripps Research. This gives us new fundamental insight into placental biology and eventually could have implications for preventing or treating pregnancy complications.

The placenta is vital to pregnancy, acting as the exchange site where oxygen and nutrients pass from mother to fetus and waste products are removed. But the precise molecular mechanisms that build this critical organ have been unclear. Previous studies had shown correlations between levels of galectin-3 and pregnancy complications, but scientists weren't sure exactly what galectin-3 was doing in the placenta.

Proteins on cell surfaces are often decorated with complex sugar chains modifications that help cells communicate and recognize each other. Galectin-3 is whats known as a glycan-binding protein, meaning it specifically recognizes and attaches to certain patterns of those sugar chains.

Huang's lab turned to a technique they first used in 2020 to map out which sugar-decorated proteins galectin-3 recognizes. Called proximity labeling, the approach acts like molecular spray paint; when galectin-3 binds to a protein, molecules generated by a derivatized galectin-3 irreversibly tag proteins in the area. Then, scientists can work backward from the highlighted parts of the protein to find galectin-3's exact binding site.

In the new study, Huang and colleagues used proximity labeling to map galectin-3 binding in lab-grown cells derived from human placental tissue. Two proteins stood out that galectin-3 consistently attached to: CD9 and integrin beta 1 (ITGB1). When the researchers removed either protein from placental cells, the cells no longer fused during placental development. Then, when they investigated which specific sites on the CD9 protein galectin-3 was binding to, the team discovered an unconventional glycosylation site.

It was really exciting to find such a rare glycosylation sequence, says first author Abigail Reeves, a Scripps Research graduate student in Huang's lab. It really underscores how little we know about this kind of glycosylation. We can't predict with absolute certainty what sugars will decorate a protein and which glycan binding proteins will recognize this modification.

The team also showed that galectin-3 molecules need to cluster together to drive cell fusion. When they engineered galectin-3 to be unable to cluster, the placental cells no longer fused.

We think whats happening is galectin-3 is binding to these CD9 glycoproteins at the cell surface and pulling them all together, creating this giant rigid structure, explains Huang. The process takes about 48 hours, and the membrane clustering ultimately triggers the cells to fuse, the data suggest.

The new study adds to growing evidence that individual interactions between proteins and sugar chains can have large effects on cell function, Huang adds.

The researchers are now working to confirm whether the process occurs in developing human placentas, rather than isolated cell lines. That insight could eventually point toward new ways of preventing pregnancy complications by mediating galectin-3. The team also plans to apply proximity labeling to other types of cells to continue studying the role of protein-sugar interactions in human biology.

In addition to Huang and Reeves, authors of the study, Mapping the placental galectin-3 interactome identifies CD9 and ITGB1 as functional glycoprotein counter-receptors during syncytialization, include Gil-Suk Yang, Sabyasachi Baboo, Jolene Diedrich, Pranali Bedekar, Christopher Bratcher, and John Yates III of Scripps Research; and Shaheen Farhadi, Arun Wanchoo, and Gregory Hudalla of University of Florida.

This work was supported by funding from the Burroughs Wellcome Foundation, the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP, NSF/DGE-2235200), a Skaggs Graduate Fellowship from the Schimmel Family Foundation, the National Institutes of Health (R35GM142462, UM1AI144462, R01/R56AI113867) and the Conrad Prebys Foundation Research Heroes Program.

Chemistry Huang, Mia
LINK: https://www.scripps.edu/news-and-events/press-room/2025/20251105-huang...
See more stories from scripps

North America Stories

10/12/2025

Sound-Alike Commercials Are Part of Sports' Soundtrack

Sound-Alike Commercials Are Part of Sports' Soundtrack Johnny Cash for Coca-Cola is the latest in a long litany of sonic approximationsBy Dan Daley, Audio ...

10/12/2025

Immersive Sound Is Logical Next Step for Sports Venues

Immersive Sound Is Logical Next Step for Sports VenuesSound-systems suppliers are sanguine, but the market has its challengesBy Dan Daley, Audio Editor Wednes...

10/12/2025

The Romans Built Arenas for Immersive Sound 2,000 Years Ago

The Romans Built Arenas for Immersive Sound 2,000 Years AgoThe historic Arena of Nimes in France is still in use todayBy Dan Daley, Audio Editor Wednesday, De...

10/12/2025

SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Audio Workshop Hits on Immersive, Virtualized, and Next-Gen Streaming Workflows

SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Audio Workshop Hits on Immersive, Virtualized, and Next...

10/12/2025

SVG Summit 2025 Technology Exhibits Preview: Audio Spotlight

SVG Summit 2025 Technology Exhibits Preview: Audio SpotlightBy SVG Staff Wednesday, December 10, 2025 - 8:21 am Print This Story | Subscribe Story Highlig...

10/12/2025

SVG Europe Audio: Listening to the Sounds of Powder and Ice at Milano Cortina with a Behind the Scenes Tour of OBS and NBC's Audio Set Ups

SVG Europe Audio: Listening to the sounds of powder and ice at Milano Cortina wi...

10/12/2025

Advancements in Audio Technology: Capturing the Atmosphere of Live Sports

Advancements in audio technology: Capturing the atmosphere of live sports By David Davies Tuesday, November 25, 2025 - 09:27 Print This Story Although wor...

10/12/2025

Everything Smelled of Popcorn: The Art of Bringing the Complex Sound of Esports to Fans With Sound Supervisor Matt Gilbert

Everything smelled of popcorn: The art of bringing the complex sound of esports ...

10/12/2025

2026 Sundance Film Festival Unveils 97 Projects Selected for the Feature Film and Episodic Program

Top L-R: Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!, Hanging by a Wire, Broken English, Buddy C...

10/12/2025

L3Harris to Produce Additional Solid Rocket Motors for Precision-Guided Artillery System

L3Harris' new contract for Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System Insensitive ...

10/12/2025

US Space Force Expands Offensive Space Programs Through L3Harris Foreign Sales

L3Harris Meadowlands system has been designed with an open architecture software system that allows for more flexible and efficient software updates. This capab...

10/12/2025

Football Shifts TV Viewing Towards Ad Supported, Nielsen's Q3 2025 Ad Supported Gauge Finds

During this interval, streaming comprised the majority of ad supported TV (46.4%...

10/12/2025

Bitcentral Names Venture Capital Exec Rick Arnold to Board

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. Bitcentral, a provider of production, asset management, playout and streaming workflow solutions, has named technology veteran Rick Arnold...

10/12/2025

TV Tech Announces Winners of 2025 Best in Market Awards for M&E Tech

TV Tech is delighted to reveal the winners of the 2025 Media & Entertainment: Best in Market Awards....

10/12/2025

AIMS, VSF, AMWA, EBU To Hold Inaugural IPMX Testing, Certification Event

BOTHELL, Wash. The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS), the Video Services Forum (VSF), the Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA) and the European Broad...

10/12/2025

DirecTV Launches Peacock Games

In a notable example of how pay TV operators are integrating streaming services into their lineup and using those services to retain or attract subscribers, Dir...

10/12/2025

Chaos Brings Real-Time Rendering to Maya and Houdini

Today, Chaos builds instant feedback into the viewport, connecting Maya and Houdini to Chaos Vantage's real-time path tracer. Artists can now assess 3D asse...

10/12/2025

Smeup doubles capacity with Cubbit under a new agreement...

Smeup, a key partner for companies engaged in digital transformation, today announced the expansion of its adoption of Cubbit, the first geo-distributed cloud s...

10/12/2025

Mediagenix Strengthens Its Security Posture with ISO 2700...

Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitably connect the right content to the right audience, today announced two significant milestones...

10/12/2025

HDR10+ Technologies Unveils HDR10+ ADVANCED Dynamic Metadata Technology

BEAVERTON, Ore. HDR10+ Technologies, LLC has announced that they will soon begin the licensing and certification of devices, content, and services that support ...

10/12/2025

SMPTE, EBU, ETC Publish Report on AI's Impact on the Media

SMPTE has joined forces with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) to publish an updated report on AI and its impact o...

10/12/2025

Clear-Com Appoints Kris Koch as New Director of Sales - N...

Clear-Com is pleased to announce the appointment of Kris Koch as Director of Sales - North & South America. In this expanded leadership role, Kris will oversee...

10/12/2025

Mavis Camera Launches Film Kit Unlocking LUT Workflows an...

Mavis today announced the latest version of Mavis Camera (v7.4), a major update to its professional iOS camera app, headlined by the launch of Film Kit - an opt...

10/12/2025

Creamsource Taps Industry Heavyweight Markus Zeiler as Gr...

Creamsource, renowned for its Vortex series of cinematic lighting, is laying the groundwork for its next phase of growth with the addition of Markus Zeiler as G...

10/12/2025

Digital Alert Systems Introduces DAS3-DC-PS DASDEC-III DC...

Digital Alert Systems, a global leader in emergency communications solutions for media providers, today announced that the DAS3-DC-PS, a new DC power supply opt...

10/12/2025

Riedel and Racing Electronics Announce Strategic Partners...

Riedel Communications today announced it has formed a strategic partnership with Racing Electronics, a premier provider of motorsport communication equipment in...

10/12/2025

GALSNGEAR Announces 2026 Leadership Retreats on East and...

#GALSNGEAR is launching two signature leadership retreats in early 2026, designed to equip women in media, entertainment, and technology with the tools to lead...

10/12/2025

CVP Launches Global Price Guarantee for Seamless Internat...

Providing worldwide customers with total confidence through transparent, all-inclusive pricing CVP, one of Europe's leading suppliers of professional video...

10/12/2025

Securing the Future of Broadcast TV in the U.S.

With the Federal Communications Commission working on new rules for the deployment of NextGen TV, next year promises to be an important one for both the future ...

10/12/2025

Former Charter CEO Tom Rutledge to Receive Cable Centers Bresnan Award

DENVER Tom Rutledge, director emeritus and former president and CEO of Charter Communications, will be honored with the 2026 Bresnan Ethics in Business Award by...

10/12/2025

Cadent Acquires YouTube Measurement Firm VuePlanner

NEW YORK Novocap's Cadent has acquired VuePlanner, a YouTube video ad planning, optimization, and measurement company in a deal that will help Cadent expand...

10/12/2025

Avoid Playlist Conflicts: Scheduling Back-to-Back Special Playlists

In preparation for the madness of March, here are some important reminders for scheduling back-to-back Special Playlists. The first Special Playlist MUST end b...

10/12/2025

Tribeca Films to Release the Independent Documentary Film Beam Me Up, Sulu by Timour Gregory and Sasha Schneider

December 10th, 2025 TRIBECA FILMS TO RELEASE THE INDEPENDENT DOCUMENTARY FILM...

10/12/2025

2026 Starts With a Swoon: Kim Seon-ho and Go Youn-jung Lead Can This Love Be Translated?', Premiering January 16

Back to All News 2026 Starts With a Swoon: Kim Seon-ho and Go Youn-jung Lead C...

10/12/2025

'Berlin and the Lady with an Ermine' Arrives to Netflix on May 15

Back to All News Berlin and the Lady with an Ermine Arrives to Netflix on May 15 Entertainment 10 December 2025 GlobalSpain Link copied to clipboard THE N...

09/12/2025

2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Pam Oliver, Sideline Icon Who Redefined the Role

2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Pam Oliver, Sideline Icon Who Redefined t...

09/12/2025

SVG Summit 2025 Technology Exhibits Preview, Part 2

SVG Summit 2025 Technology Exhibits Preview, Part 2By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S. Tuesday, December 9, 2025 - 7:17 am Print This Story | Subscr...

09/12/2025

SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Cloud Production Workshop Spotlights Live and Non-Live Workflows in the Cloud

SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Cloud Production Workshop Spotlights Live and Non-Live ...

09/12/2025

Next-Generation Content Protection: Multi-Technology Security is Integral to Combating New Threats

Next-generation content protection: Multi-technology security is integral to com...

09/12/2025

CBS Sports Provides One-of-a-Kind Production' for UEFA Champions League Crossover Event

CBS Sports Provides One-of-a-Kind Production' for UEFA Champions League Cro...

09/12/2025

Spanish Professional Basketball League Relies on NETGEAR AV, MAM Tech for Seamless Production

Spanish Professional Basketball League Relies on NETGEAR AV, MAM Tech for Seamle...

09/12/2025

SVG Sit-Down: St. Thomas's Mike Gallagher and Casey Eakins on the Tommies' Bold Leap to Division I and How Video Plays a Key Role

SVG Sit-Down: St. Thomas's Mike Gallagher and Casey Eakins on the Tommies...

09/12/2025

Free Registration for the 2025 SVG Summit Closes Today at 5 p.m. ET!

Free Registration for the 2025 SVG Summit Closes Today at 5 p.m. ET!After the deadline, tickets will cost $150 to attend the eventBy SVG Staff Tuesday, Decemb...

09/12/2025

University of St. Thomas Ushers in Division I Era With New Arena and a Broadcast Operation Built for the Big Time

University of St. Thomas Ushers in Division I Era With New Arena and a Broadcast...

09/12/2025

Leading the Charge: L3Harris' Advanced EW Technologies for Superior Battlefield Advantage

For decades, customers have turned to L3Harris capabilities in electronic warfar...

09/12/2025

L3Harris Propulsion Solutions: Securing the High Ground in Space

L3Harris propulsion systems enable agile maneuvering and resilience for U.S. spacecraft, supporting national security and mission success in the evolving space ...

09/12/2025

L3Harris Successfully Completes Critical Design Review of Key Components for Japan's New Geostationary Meteorological Satellite

L3Harris Technologies' imaging and sounding instruments will play a critical...

09/12/2025

James Shears Joins ThinkAnalytics as Senior VP, Advertising

LOS ANGELES James Shears has joined ThinkAnalytics as senior vice president, advertising, tasked with leading global strategy and commercial expansion of the co...

09/12/2025

Kathleen Kirby, Heidi Raphael Join Media Institute Board

VIENNA, Va. The Media Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization specializing in communications policy and the First Amendment, has named Kathleen Kirby o...

09/12/2025

Hollywood's Ecosystem for Combating Piracy

Throughout its century-plus existence, the motion picture industry has had to fight battles on multiple fronts to protect its content from piracy. From protecti...