{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,2]],"date-time":"2026-08-02T23:46:49Z","timestamp":1785714409183,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,20]],"date-time":"2024-09-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1726790400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia","award":["451-03-66\/2024-03\/200019"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["451-03-66\/2024-03\/200019"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Galectins are a class of lectins that are extensively expressed in all organisms. Galectins are involved in a range of functions, including early development, tissue regeneration, cancer and inflammation. It has been shown that galectin-8 is expressed in the villous and extravillous trophoblast (EVT) cells of the human placenta; however, its physiological role in pregnancy establishment has not been elucidated. Taking these factors into account, we investigated the functional role of galectin-8 in HTR-8\/SVneo cells\u2014a human EVT cell line\u2014and human primary cytotrophoblast cells isolated from a first-trimester placenta. We analyzed the effects of recombinant human galectin-8 (rh galectin-8) on the adhesion, migration and invasion of HTR-8\/SVneo cells. We used qPCR, cell-based ELISA (cELISA) and gelatin zymography to study the effects of galectin-8 on mediators of these processes, such as integrin subunits alpha-1 and beta-1 and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs)-2 and -9, on the mRNA and protein levels. Further, we studied the effects of galectin-8 on primary cytotrophoblast cells\u2019 invasion. Galectin-8 stimulated the adhesion, migration and invasion of HTR-8\/SVneo cells, as well as the invasion of primary cytotrophoblasts. In addition, the MMP-2 and -9 levels were increased, while the expression of integrins alpha-1 and beta-1 was not affected. Galectin-8 has the ability to positively affect EVTs\u2019 invasion, so it can be considered a significant factor in the trophoblast cell invasion process.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms251810096","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,20]],"date-time":"2024-09-20T02:47:07Z","timestamp":1726800427000},"page":"10096","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Galectin-8 Contributes to Human Trophoblast Cell Invasion"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"25","author":[{"given":"Janko","family":"Legner","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department for Biology of Reproduction, Institute for the Application of Nuclear Energy, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8292-4853","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Milica","family":"Jovanovi\u0107 Krivoku\u0107a","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department for Biology of Reproduction, Institute for the Application of Nuclear Energy, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Aleksandra","family":"Viloti\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department for Biology of Reproduction, Institute for the Application of Nuclear Energy, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1182-4895","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andrea","family":"Pirkovi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department for Biology of Reproduction, Institute for the Application of Nuclear Energy, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0750-9347","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mirjana","family":"Nacka-Aleksi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department for Biology of Reproduction, Institute for the Application of Nuclear Energy, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"\u017danka","family":"Boji\u0107-Trbojevi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department for Biology of Reproduction, Institute for the Application of Nuclear Energy, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Burton, G.J., and Fowden, A.L. 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