An integrated cell atlas of the lung in health and disease

Single-cell technologies have transformed our understanding of human tissues. Yet, studies typically capture only a limited number of donors and disagree on cell type definitions. Integrating many single-cell datasets can address these limitations of individual studies and capture the variability present in the population. Here we present the integrated Human Lung Cell Atlas (HLCA), combining 49 datasets of the human respiratory system into a single atlas spanning over 2.4 million cells from 486 individuals. The HLCA presents a consensus cell type re-annotation with matching marker genes, including annotations of rare and previously undescribed cell types. Leveraging the number and diversity of individuals in the HLCA, we identify gene modules that are associated with demographic covariates such as age, sex and body mass index, as well as gene modules changing expression along the proximal-to-distal axis of the bronchial tree. Mapping new data to the HLCA enables rapid data annotation and interpretation. Using the HLCA as a reference for the study of disease, we identify shared cell states across multiple lung diseases, including SPP1 + profibrotic monocyte-derived macrophages in COVID-19, pulmonary fibrosis and lung carcinoma. Overall, the HLCA serves as an example for the development and use of large-scale, cross-dataset organ atlases within the Human Cell Atlas. © 2023, The Author(s)

An integrated cell atlas of the lung in health and disease

Single-cell technologies have transformed our understanding of human tissues. Yet, studies typically capture only a limited number of donors and disagree on cell type definitions. Integrating many single-cell datasets can address these limitations of individual studies and capture the variability present in the population. Here we present the integrated Human Lung Cell Atlas (HLCA), combining 49 datasets of the human respiratory system into a single atlas spanning over 2.4 million cells from 486 individuals. The HLCA presents a consensus cell type re-annotation with matching marker genes, including annotations of rare and previously undescribed cell types. Leveraging the number and diversity of individuals in the HLCA, we identify gene modules that are associated with demographic covariates such as age, sex and body mass index, as well as gene modules changing expression along the proximal-to-distal axis of the bronchial tree. Mapping new data to the HLCA enables rapid data annotation and interpretation. Using the HLCA as a reference for the study of disease, we identify shared cell states across multiple lung diseases, including SPP1 + profibrotic monocyte-derived macrophages in COVID-19, pulmonary fibrosis and lung carcinoma. Overall, the HLCA serves as an example for the development and use of large-scale, cross-dataset organ atlases within the Human Cell Atlas. </p

An integrated cell atlas of the lung in health and disease

Single-cell technologies have transformed our understanding of human tissues. Yet, studies typically capture only a limited number of donors and disagree on cell type definitions. Integrating many single-cell datasets can address these limitations of individual studies and capture the variability present in the population. Here we present the integrated Human Lung Cell Atlas (HLCA), combining 49 datasets of the human respiratory system into a single atlas spanning over 2.4 million cells from 486 individuals. The HLCA presents a consensus cell type re-annotation with matching marker genes, including annotations of rare and previously undescribed cell types. Leveraging the number and diversity of individuals in the HLCA, we identify gene modules that are associated with demographic covariates such as age, sex and body mass index, as well as gene modules changing expression along the proximal-to-distal axis of the bronchial tree. Mapping new data to the HLCA enables rapid data annotation and interpretation. Using the HLCA as a reference for the study of disease, we identify shared cell states across multiple lung diseases, including SPP1+ profibrotic monocyte-derived macrophages in COVID-19, pulmonary fibrosis and lung carcinoma. Overall, the HLCA serves as an example for the development and use of large-scale, cross-dataset organ atlases within the Human Cell Atlas

Improving the diagnostic yield of exome-sequencing by predicting gene-phenotype associations using large-scale gene expression analysis

The diagnostic yield of exome and genome sequencing remains low (8-70%), due to incomplete knowledge on the genes that cause disease. To improve this, we use RNA-seq data from 31,499 samples to predict which genes cause specific disease phenotypes, and develop GeneNetwork Assisted Diagnostic Optimization (GADO). We show that this unbiased method, which does not rely upon specific knowledge on individual genes, is effective in both identifying previously unknown disease gene associations, and flagging genes that have previously been incorrectly implicated in disease. GADO can be run on www.genenetwork.nl by supplying HPO-terms and a list of genes that contain candidate variants. Finally, applying GADO to a cohort of 61 patients for whom exome-sequencing analysis had not resulted in a genetic diagnosis, yields likely causative genes for ten cases

Systemic alterations in neutrophils and their precursors in early-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Summary: Systemic inflammation is established as part of late-stage severe lung disease, but molecular, functional, and phenotypic changes in peripheral immune cells in early disease stages remain ill defined. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major respiratory disease characterized by small-airway inflammation, emphysema, and severe breathing difficulties. Using single-cell analyses we demonstrate that blood neutrophils are already increased in early-stage COPD, and changes in molecular and functional neutrophil states correlate with lung function decline. Assessing neutrophils and their bone marrow precursors in a murine cigarette smoke exposure model identified similar molecular changes in blood neutrophils and precursor populations that also occur in the blood and lung. Our study shows that systemic molecular alterations in neutrophils and their precursors are part of early-stage COPD, a finding to be further explored for potential therapeutic targets and biomarkers for early diagnosis and patient stratification

An integrated cell atlas of the lung in health and disease

Single-cell technologies have transformed our understanding of human tissues. Yet, studies typically capture only a limited number of donors and disagree on cell type definitions. Integrating many single-cell datasets can address these limitations of individual studies and capture the variability present in the population. Here we present the integrated Human Lung Cell Atlas (HLCA), combining 49 datasets of the human respiratory system into a single atlas spanning over 2.4 million cells from 486 individuals. The HLCA presents a consensus cell type re-annotation with matching marker genes, including annotations of rare and previously undescribed cell types. Leveraging the number and diversity of individuals in the HLCA, we identify gene modules that are associated with demographic covariates such as age, sex and body mass index, as well as gene modules changing expression along the proximal-to-distal axis of the bronchial tree. Mapping new data to the HLCA enables rapid data annotation and interpretation. Using the HLCA as a reference for the study of disease, we identify shared cell states across multiple lung diseases, including SPP1+ profibrotic monocyte-derived macrophages in COVID-19, pulmonary fibrosis and lung carcinoma. Overall, the HLCA serves as an example for the development and use of large-scale, cross-dataset organ atlases within the Human Cell Atlas

An integrated cell atlas of the lung in health and disease.

Acknowledgements: This publication is part of the Human Cell Atlas (www.humancellatlas.org/publications/). This work was supported by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI; LLC Seed Network grant CZF2019-002438 (Lung Cell Atlas 1.0) to P.B., M.D.L., A.V.M., M.C.N., D.P.S., J.R., P.R.T., K.B.M., F.J.T. and H.B.S.); National Institutes of Health (NIH; R01HL145372) and Department of Defense (W81XWH-19-1-0416) (to J.A.K. and N.E.B.); Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale (DEQ20180339158), Conseil Départemental des Alpes Maritimes (2016-294DGADSH-CV), Inserm Cross-cutting Scientific Program HuDeCA 2018, Agence Nationale de la Recherche SAHARRA (ANR-19-CE14-0027), ANR-19-P3IA-0002-3IA, National Infrastructure France Génomique (ANR-10-INBS-09-03) and PPIA 4D-OMICS (21-ESRE-0052) (to P.B.); H2020-SC1-BHC-2018-2020 Discovair (grant agreement 874656) (to P.B., K.B.M., S.A.T., M.C.N., F.J.T., M.P., H.B.S. and J.L.); NIH 1U54HL145608-01 (to M.D.L., K.Z., X.S., J.S.H. and G.P.); Wellcome (WT211276/Z/18/Z) and Sanger core grant WT206194 (to K.B.M. and S.A.T.); ESPOD fellowship of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory European Bioinformatics Institute and Sanger Institute (to E.M.); R01 HL153312, U19 AI135964, P01 AG049665, R01 HL158139, R01 ES034350 and U54 AG079754 (to A.V.M.); Lung Foundation Netherlands project numbers 5.1.14.020 and 4.1.18.226 (to M.C.N.); NIH grants R01HL146557 and R01HL153375 (to P.R.T.); German Center for Lung Research and Helmholtz Association (to H.B.S.); Helmholtz Association’s Initiative and Networking Fund through Helmholtz AI (ZT-I-PF-5-01) and Bavarian Ministry of Science and the Arts in the framework of the Bavarian Research Association ForInter (Interaction of Human Brain Cells) (to F.J.T.); Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (to J.A.K.); Joachim Herz Foundation (to L.D.); Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy by means of the Public–Private Partnership (to T.M.K.); 3IA Cote d’Azur PhD program (to A.C.); R01 HL135156, R01 MD010443, R01 HL128439, P01 HL132821, P01 HL107202, R01 HL117004 and Department of Defense grant W81WH-16-2-0018 (to M.A.S.); HL142568 and HL14507 from the NHLBI (to D.S.); P50 AR060780-06A1 (to R.L. and T.T.); Medical Research Council Clinician Scientist Fellowship (MR/W00111X/1) (to M.Z.N.); Jikei University School of Medicine (to M.Y.); University College London Birkbeck Medical Research Council Doctoral Training Programme (to K.B.W.); CZI (to J.W., Y.X. and N.K.); 5U01HL148856 (to J.W. and Y.X.); R01 HL153045 (to Y.X.); R01HL127349, R01HL141852 and U01HL145567 (to N.K.); 2R01HL068702 (to D.P.S. and J.R.); 5R01HL14254903 and 4UH3CA25513503 (to T.J.D.); R21HL156124, R56HL157632 and R21HL161760 (to A.M.T.); NIH U54 AG075931 and 5R01 HL146519 (to O.E.); Swedish Research Council and Cancerfonden (to C.S.); CZI Deep Visual Proteomics (to P.H.); U01HL148861-03 (to G.P.); CZI 2021-237918 (to J.S.H., P.R.T., H.B.S. and F.J.T.); CZIF2022-007488 from the CZI Foundation (F.J.T., S.A.T., M.D.L. and K.B.M.); European Respiratory Society and European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement number 847462 (to J.G.-S. and A.J.O.); and Fondation de l’Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie de Québec (to Y.B.). We thank E. Spiegel from the Core Facility Statistical Consulting at the Helmholtz Center Munich Institute of Computational Biology for statistical consulting.Funder: Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, LLC Seed Network grant (CZF2019-002438) “Lung Cell Atlas 1.0” NIH 1U54HL145608-01 CZIF2022-007488 from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Foundation CZIF2022-007488 from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative FoundationFunder: ESPOD fellowship of EMBL-EBI and Sanger InstituteFunder: 3IA Cote d’Azur PhD programFunder: The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy by means of the PPPFunder: Joachim Herz Stiftung (Joachim Herz Foundation); doi: https://doi.org/10.13039/100008662Funder: P50 AR060780-06A1Funder: University College London, Birkbeck MRC Doctoral Training ProgrammeFunder: Jikei University School of Medicine (Jikei University); doi: https://doi.org/10.13039/501100007962Funder: 5R01HL14254903, 4UH3CA25513503Funder: R01HL127349, R01HL141852, U01HL145567 and CZIFunder: MRC Clinician Scientist Fellowship (MR/W00111X/1)Funder: Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, LLC Seed Network grant (CZF2019-002438) “Lung Cell Atlas 1.0” 2R01HL068702Funder: R01 HL135156, R01 MD010443, R01 HL128439, P01 HL132821, P01 HL107202, R01 HL117004, and DOD Grant W81WH-16-2-0018Funder: HL142568 and HL14507 from the NHLBIFunder: Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, LLC Seed Network grant (CZF2019-002438) “Lung Cell Atlas 1.0”, 2R01HL068702Funder: Wellcome (WT211276/Z/18/Z) Sanger core grant WT206194 CZIF2022-007488 from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative FoundationFunder: R21HL156124, R56HL157632, and R21HL161760Funder: CZI, 5U01HL148856Funder: CZI, 5U01HL148856, R01 HL153045Funder: The National Institute of Health R01HL145372Funder: Inserm Cross-cutting Scientific Program HuDeCA 2018, ANR SAHARRA (ANR-19-CE14–0027), ANR-19-P3IA-0002–3IA, the National Infrastructure France Génomique (ANR-10-INBS-09-03), PPIA 4D-OMICS (21-ESRE-0052), and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, LLC Seed Network grant (CZF2019-002438) “Lung Cell Atlas 1.0”.Funder: Sanger core grant WT206194 Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, LLC Seed Network grant (CZF2019-002438) “Lung Cell Atlas 1.0” CZIF2022-007488 from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative FoundationFunder: Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF); doi: https://doi.org/10.13039/100000862Funder: The National Institute of Health R01HL145372 Department of Defense W81XWH-19-1-0416Funder: The National Institute of Health R01HL146557 and R01HL153375 and funds from Chan Zuckerberg Initiative - Human Lung Cell Atlas-pilot awardFunder: 1U54HL145608-01Funder: CZI Deep Visual ProteomicsFunder: 1U54HL145608-01, U01HL148861-03Funder: 1) the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, LLC Seed Network grant CZF2019-002438 “Lung Cell Atlas 1.0”; 2) R01 HL153312; 3) U19 AI135964; 4) P01 AG049665Funder: Netherlands Lung Foundation project nos. 5.1.14.020 and 4.1.18.226, LLC Seed Network grant CZF2019-002438 “Lung Cell Atlas 1.0”Funder: grant number 2019-002438 from the Chan Zuckerberg Foundation, by the Helmholtz Association’s Initiative and Networking Fund through Helmholtz AI [ZT-I-PF-5-01] and by the Bavarian Ministry of Science and the Arts in the framework of the Bavarian Research Association “ForInter” (Interaction of human brain cells)Funder: 1 U01 HL14555-01, R01 HL123766-04Funder: NIH U54 AG075931, 5R01 HL146519Single-cell technologies have transformed our understanding of human tissues. Yet, studies typically capture only a limited number of donors and disagree on cell type definitions. Integrating many single-cell datasets can address these limitations of individual studies and capture the variability present in the population. Here we present the integrated Human Lung Cell Atlas (HLCA), combining 49 datasets of the human respiratory system into a single atlas spanning over 2.4 million cells from 486 individuals. The HLCA presents a consensus cell type re-annotation with matching marker genes, including annotations of rare and previously undescribed cell types. Leveraging the number and diversity of individuals in the HLCA, we identify gene modules that are associated with demographic covariates such as age, sex and body mass index, as well as gene modules changing expression along the proximal-to-distal axis of the bronchial tree. Mapping new data to the HLCA enables rapid data annotation and interpretation. Using the HLCA as a reference for the study of disease, we identify shared cell states across multiple lung diseases, including SPP1+ profibrotic monocyte-derived macrophages in COVID-19, pulmonary fibrosis and lung carcinoma. Overall, the HLCA serves as an example for the development and use of large-scale, cross-dataset organ atlases within the Human Cell Atlas

An integrated cell atlas of the lung in health and disease

Single-cell technologies have transformed our understanding of human tissues. Yet, studies typically capture only a limited number of donors and disagree on cell type definitions. Integrating many single-cell datasets can address these limitations of individual studies and capture the variability present in the population. Here we present the integrated Human Lung Cell Atlas (HLCA), combining 49 datasets of the human respiratory system into a single atlas spanning over 2.4 million cells from 486 individuals. The HLCA presents a consensus cell type re-annotation with matching marker genes, including annotations of rare and previously undescribed cell types. Leveraging the number and diversity of individuals in the HLCA, we identify gene modules that are associated with demographic covariates such as age, sex and body mass index, as well as gene modules changing expression along the proximal-to-distal axis of the bronchial tree. Mapping new data to the HLCA enables rapid data annotation and interpretation. Using the HLCA as a reference for the study of disease, we identify shared cell states across multiple lung diseases, including SPP1(+) profibrotic monocyte-derived macrophages in COVID-19, pulmonary fibrosis and lung carcinoma. Overall, the HLCA serves as an example for the development and use of large-scale, cross-dataset organ atlases within the Human Cell Atlas.A single-cell atlas of the human lungs, integrating data from 2.4 million cells from 486 individuals and including samples from healthy and diseased lungs, provides a roadmap for the generation of organ-scale cell atlases.Peer reviewe