Hormones are chemical messengers that help coordinate many of the body’s most important functions, including growth, metabolism, reproduction, and immune responses. Although scientists have studied individual hormones for decades, it has been difficult to create a complete picture of where hormones are produced and which cells respond to them throughout the body.

Researchers from the University of Cambridge, created the first comprehensive Hormone Cell Atlas by analyzing gene expression in approximately 14 million individual cells and nuclei collected from 47 human tissues. The work builds on the Human Cell Atlas initiative and provides an unprecedented view of hormone signaling at single cell resolution.

Construction and applications of the human Hormone Cell Atlas

The researchers examined the activity of 379 genes that encode hormones and their receptors using single cell RNA sequencing data. They also developed a computational tool called hormone2cell to identify which cell types produce hormones and which cells are likely to receive those hormonal signals. This allowed them to map communication networks both within individual tissues and across different organs.

The atlas confirmed many well known hormone pathways, but it also uncovered several surprising discoveries. For example, the researchers found evidence that the hormone secretin may be produced by plasmacytoid dendritic cells, a type of immune cell not previously recognized as a source of this hormone. They also identified previously unknown hormone signaling pathways and feedback loops that connect different tissues throughout the body.

Another important finding came from the analysis of adipose tissue. By comparing fat cells from different parts of the body, the researchers discovered that hormone signaling changes depending on the location of the fat, the subtype of adipocyte, and the stage of cell development. These dynamic endocrine programs may help explain why different fat depots have distinct effects on metabolism and disease.

The Hormone Cell Atlas also provides new insight into rare inherited endocrine disorders by identifying the specific cell populations that express genes linked to these conditions. This information could help researchers better understand disease mechanisms and identify new therapeutic targets.

The complete atlas is freely available through an interactive online resource, allowing scientists around the world to explore hormone production and hormone signaling at cellular resolution. As additional single cell datasets become available, this resource is expected to become an increasingly valuable tool for studying endocrine biology, metabolism, and human disease.

Availability – https://hormonecellatlas.org.uk/