Feinberg
Northwestern Medicine | Northwestern University | Faculty Profiles

News Center

  • Categories
    • Campus News
    • Disease Discoveries
    • Clinical Breakthroughs
    • Education News
    • Scientific Advances
  • Press Releases
  • Media Coverage
  • Podcasts
  • Editor’s Picks
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Cancer
    • Neurology and Neuroscience
    • Aging and Longevity
    • Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
  • News Archives
  • About Us
    • Media Contact
    • Share Your News
    • News Feeds
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
Menu
  • Categories
    • Campus News
    • Disease Discoveries
    • Clinical Breakthroughs
    • Education News
    • Scientific Advances
  • Press Releases
  • Media Coverage
  • Podcasts
  • Editor’s Picks
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Cancer
    • Neurology and Neuroscience
    • Aging and Longevity
    • Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
  • News Archives
  • About Us
    • Media Contact
    • Share Your News
    • News Feeds
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
Home » Largest Cell Map of Human Lung Reveals Insights Into Disease
Disease Discoveries

Largest Cell Map of Human Lung Reveals Insights Into Disease

By Marla PaulJun 8, 2023
Share
Facebook Twitter Email

Human Lung Cell Atlas maps more than 2.4 million human lung cells

Alexander Misharin, MD, PhD, associate professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, was senior author of the study published in Nature Medicine.

Northwestern Medicine scientists helped develop the largest and most comprehensive cell map of the human lung in a recent study published in Nature Medicine.

Revealing the great diversity of cell types in the lung and key differences between health and disease, the Human Lung Cell Atlas (HLCA) will be an important new resource for lung investigators.

By combining data from nearly 40 studies, investigators from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Helmholtz Munich, University Medical Center Groningen and their collaborators created the first integrated single-cell atlas of the lung, revealing rare cell types and highlighting cellular differences between healthy people.

In addition, the study found common cell states between lung fibrosis, cancer and COVID-19, offering new ways of understanding lung disease, which could help identify new therapeutic targets.

“The Human Lung Cell Atlas is a huge resource for the scientific and medical community,” said Alexander Misharin, MD, PhD, associate professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care and senior author on the paper. “New disease data can be mapped onto the HLCA, transforming research in lung biology and disease. As the first whole reference atlas of a major organ, the HLCA also represents a milestone toward achieving a full Human Cell Atlas, which will transform our understanding of biology and disease and lay the foundation for a new era of healthcare.”

The Misharin laboratory leveraged unique tissue resources available via several established translational research programs in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care and the Simpson Querrey Lung Institute for Translational Science (SQLIFTS) to generate new data for the HLCA. The Misharin laboratory also provided biological expertise, which was essential for making this integrated lung cell atlas interpretable, actionable and relevant to lung diseases.

To develop the HLCA, a large team of investigators successfully combined 49 lung datasets from nearly 40 separate studies into a single integrated atlas using advanced machine learning. By pooling and integrating datasets from every major single-cell RNA-sequencing lung study published to date, the team created the first integrated HLCA. This atlas spans more than 2.4 million cells from 486 individuals and gives new insights into lung biology that were not possible before.

The Lung Atlas Integration project was an international collaborative effort with nearly 100 partners from more than 60 departments. The team is part of the Human Cell Atlas Lung Biological Network, which has its roots in the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Seed Networks for the Human Cell Atlas and the European Union-funded lung network DiscovAIR.

Misharin serves as a coordinating principal investigator for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Seed Networks for the HLCA. This seed network brings together 16 research groups from the U.S., the EU and Australia.

The study is part of the global Human Cell Atlas (HCA), an international collaborative consortium that is creating comprehensive reference maps of all human cells — the fundamental units of life — as a basis for understanding human health and for diagnosing, monitoring and treating disease.

Medicine Press Release Research
Share. Facebook Twitter Email

Related Posts

Mapping Neural Activity Patterns and Odor Perception  

Sep 28, 2023

Small, Implantable Device Could Sense and Treat Cancer

Sep 26, 2023

Gene Linked to Glioblastoma Stem Cell Self-Renewal and Immunosuppression

Sep 26, 2023

Comments are closed.

Latest News

Mapping Neural Activity Patterns and Odor Perception  

Sep 28, 2023

Lloyd-Jones Announces He is Stepping Down as Chair of Preventive Medicine

Sep 27, 2023

Small, Implantable Device Could Sense and Treat Cancer

Sep 26, 2023

Gene Linked to Glioblastoma Stem Cell Self-Renewal and Immunosuppression

Sep 26, 2023

Northwestern Simulation’s In Situ Training Tests Cardiac Arrest Response Teams

Sep 25, 2023
  • News Center Home
  • Categories
  • Press Release
  • Media Coverage
  • Editor’s Picks
  • News Archives
  • About Us
Flickr Photos
20230914_NM461
20230914_NM644
20230914_NM345
20230914_NM444
20230914_NM464
20230914_NM520
20230914_NM673
20230914_NM641
20230914_NM612
20230914_NM608
20230914_NM602
20230914_NM597

Northwestern University logo

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

RSS Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Flickr YouTube Instagram
Copyright © 2023 Northwestern University
  • Contact Northwestern University
  • Disclaimer
  • Campus Emergency Information
  • Policy Statements

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.