Approach

The HCA|Organoid project specifically addresses the stated goal of the Human Cell Atlas (HCA) initiative of achieving biomedical impact. It complements 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.

The goal of the HCA|Organoid project is to firmly establish an "Organoid Cell Atlas" within the HCA and to create important synergies with organ‐centric ex vivo mapping initiatives. For this, single-cell transcriptomes, single-cell epigenomes, and time-series imaging are combined to analyze several thousand organoids and matched primary tissue. The resulting resource aims to score organoids for reproducibility and quality. This will ultimately promote organoid technology future disease-centric, mechanistic, and translational use.

The HCA|Organoid pilot initially focuses on two organs (colon, brain) to derive and characterize organoids from 100 individuals each. This resource will quantify normal population variation and provide a baseline for disease studies. Its practical utility will be shown by proof-of-concept disease modelling studies. Moreover, a multi‐tissue human organoid platform comprising a “living biobank” and a HCA|Organoid Data Portal for data sharing and user‐friendly analysis will be established. The long-term prospective is to build a sustainable infrastructure to facilitate inclusion of organoids for additional organs.