The Botnar Institute for Musculoskeletal Sciences, Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Science, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
The Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Science, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Nat Rev Rheumatol. 2023 Nov;19(11):738-752. doi: 10.1038/s41584-023-01031-2. Epub 2023 Oct 5.
Advances in single-cell technologies have transformed the ability to identify the individual cell types present within tissues and organs. The musculoskeletal bionetwork, part of the wider Human Cell Atlas project, aims to create a detailed map of the healthy musculoskeletal system at a single-cell resolution throughout tissue development and across the human lifespan, with complementary generation of data from diseased tissues. Given the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders, this detailed reference dataset will be critical to understanding normal musculoskeletal function in growth, homeostasis and ageing. The endeavour will also help to identify the cellular basis for disease and lay the foundations for novel therapeutic approaches to treating diseases of the joints, soft tissues and bone. Here, we present a Roadmap delineating the critical steps required to construct the first draft of a human musculoskeletal cell atlas. We describe the key challenges involved in mapping the extracellular matrix-rich, but cell-poor, tissues of the musculoskeletal system, outline early milestones that have been achieved and describe the vision and directions for a comprehensive musculoskeletal cell atlas. By embracing cutting-edge technologies, integrating diverse datasets and fostering international collaborations, this endeavour has the potential to drive transformative changes in musculoskeletal medicine.
单细胞技术的进步改变了鉴定组织和器官中存在的单个细胞类型的能力。肌肉骨骼生物网络是更广泛的人类细胞图谱项目的一部分，旨在以单细胞分辨率创建健康肌肉骨骼系统在整个组织发育和人类寿命过程中的详细图谱，并从患病组织中生成互补的数据。鉴于肌肉骨骼疾病的普遍性，这个详细的参考数据集对于理解生长、稳态和衰老过程中的正常肌肉骨骼功能至关重要。这一努力还将有助于确定疾病的细胞基础，并为治疗关节、软组织和骨骼疾病的新治疗方法奠定基础。在这里，我们提出了一个路线图，阐述了构建人类肌肉骨骼细胞图谱初稿所需的关键步骤。我们描述了绘制富含细胞外基质但细胞稀少的肌肉骨骼系统组织图谱所涉及的关键挑战，概述了已经取得的早期里程碑，并描述了全面肌肉骨骼细胞图谱的愿景和方向。通过采用前沿技术、整合多样化数据集和促进国际合作，这项工作有可能推动肌肉骨骼医学的变革。
