A Hormone Cell Atlas maps the human endocrine system at cellular resolution
Hormones act across tissues and organs to coordinate physiological functions. Drawing inspiration from the Human Cell Atlas, we analyzed expression of 379 hormone and receptor genes in a transcriptomic dataset comprising 14 million single cells and nuclei across 47 human tissues. Using hormone2cell, we mapped putative hormone-producing and hormone-receiving cell types, defining tissue-specific and cross-tissue endocrine signatures. We predicted non-classical sites of hormone expression, including secretin in plasmacytoid dendritic cells, inferred convergent hormone action and endocrine feedback loops, and implicated cell populations in monogenic endocrine disorders. In a cross-tissue integration of adipocyte datasets, we uncovered dynamic endocrine programs across depots, within adipocyte subtypes and through adipogenic differentiation. Cumulatively, the Hormone Cell Atlas ( hormonecellatlas.org.uk ) provides a comprehensive framework for dissecting hormonal impact on health and disease.
Authors
- Yizhou Yu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4800-9392)
- Robert Legg (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7237-4744)
- Ken To (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9262-7190)
- J. Patrick Pett (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5249-444X)
- Amanda J. Oliver (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1690-9027)
- Alexander V. Predeus (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2750-1599)
- Batuhan Çakır (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4513-606X)
- Lijiang Fei (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2066-7297)
- Ruth Hanßen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7283-9302)
- Krzysztof Polański (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2586-9576)
- Isabel Huang‐Doran (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0573-6557)
- Dinesh Shah
- Jaume Margalef-Rieres
- I. Sadaf Farooqi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7609-3504)
- Duy Pham
- Kevin M. Méndez-Acevedo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9872-7192)
- Rakesh K. Kapuge (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-3394-0387)
- Madelyn R. Moy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1159-5049)
- Joseph S. Pohlman
- Tessa M. Cacciottolo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6646-5498)
- Sarah A. Teichmann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6294-6366)
- Katherine Lawler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4188-1804)
- Chuan Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6265-999X)
Institutions
- Wellcome/MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute (GB)
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute (AU)
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- Macmillan Cancer Support (GB)
- General Medical Council (GB)
- Wellcome Sanger Institute (GB)
- NIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre (GB)
- Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research (DE)
- University Hospital Cologne (DE)
- MRC Epidemiology Unit (GB)
- Imperial College London (GB)
- Medical Research Council (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Science
- Published
- 2026-05-28
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aeb2672
- Primary Topic
- Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00