Human Cell Atlas takes major step toward defining cellular diversity of human tissues
Four Science papers characterize over a million human cells based on space, time and gene expression
In four papers published in Science, the Human Cell Atlas consortium cranks up the definition in the picture of what differentiates cell types across time and space in the human body. The results provide a more sophisticated view of the cellular complexity of tissues, and could give drug developers new handles for targeting specific types of cells in tissues of interest.
In one study, Wellcome Sanger Institute, University of Cambridge and collaborators sequenced RNA from 330,000 single immune cells from different regions of the human body. Using the information, the authors created a machine-learning tool, dubbed CellTypist, that identified about one hundred distinct immune cell types, including tissue-specific subtypes of macrophages, B cells and T cells. The authors say the results “have implications for the engineering of cells for therapeutic purposes and addressing cells to intended tissue locations.” ...