The HCA|Organoid is a European research project which establishes an open access “Organoid Cell Atlas” within the global Human Cell Atlas (HCA) initiative by combining single-cell profiling and organoid technology.
Single-cell profiling enables the creation of a comprehensive reference map of the types and properties of all cells and cell types within the human body. Such a resource will provide a fundamentally new perspective for understanding biology, with profound potential to drive therapeutic advances and accelerate precision and regenerative medicine. In order to streamline research endeavors worldwide, the Human Cell Atlas (HCA) provides global coordination and serves as a comprehensive reference map of the types and properties of all human cells and cell types. Within the global context provided by the HCA, the European research project HCA│Organoid has set out to establish an “Organoid Cell Atlas”. Organoids are tiny, three-dimensional tissue cultures that recapitulate organ development. They can be derived from stem cells – cells that can indefinitely differentiate into various cell types. Resembling miniature versions of potentially any organ or tissue in our body, organoids help us to better understand the complex, three-dimensional microanatomy of an organ. Using organoids has tremendous potential for biomedical applications, since they enable us to assess, intervene and manipulate processes in human organ systems that are otherwise difficult or impossible to conduct in human beings.
Setting up the first version of an atlas of organoid cells, HCA|Organoid is complementing the descriptive nature of a single-cell atlas comprising all human cells/tissues by providing the corresponding atlas for organoids, which is a technology that make human tissue amenable to functional studies and faithful disease modelling in vitro. Toward realizing this vision, HCA|Organoid initially focused on establishing single-cell profiles of human organoids and matched primary tissue from healthy donors. The project derived and comprehensively characterized human brain and colon organoids from nearly 100 individuals each. This resource will enable future discovery-driven and translational research on rare genetic diseases, complex multifactorial diseases, and on cancer. Moreover, HCA|Organoid is establishing a multi‐tissue human organoid platform comprising a “living biobank” and a HCA|Organoid Data Portal for data sharing and user‐friendly analysis. Consequently, the results obtained by the HCA|Organoid project do significantly enhance our understanding of the molecular basis of our cells, ultimately resulting in a deeper understanding of the mechanisms underlying human health and disease.
