Interpretable inflammation landscape of circulating immune cells
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Inflammation is a biological phenomenon beneficial for homeostasis, but it is unfavorable if dysregulated. Although major progress has been made in characterizing inflammation in specific diseases, a global, holistic understanding is still elusive. This is particularly intriguing, considering its function for human health and the potential for modern medicine if fully deciphered. In this study, we leveraged advances in single-cell transcriptomics to delineate inflammatory processes of circulating immune cells during infection, immune-mediated inflammatory diseases and cancer. Our single-cell atlas of more than 6.5 million peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 1,047 patients (56% female, 43% male) and 19 diseases allowed us to learn a comprehensive model of inflammation in circulating immune cells. The atlas expands current knowledge of the biology of inflammation of immune-mediated diseases, acute and chronic inflammatory diseases, infections and solid tumors and lays the foundation to develop a disease classification framework using unsupervised as well as explainable machine learning. Beyond a disease-centered analysis, we charted altered activity of inflammatory molecules in peripheral blood cells, depicting discriminative inflammation-related genes to further understand mechanisms of inflammation. We present a rich resource for the community and lay the groundwork for learning a classifier for inflammatory diseases, presenting cells in circulation as living biomarkers. Including data from 1,047 patients across 19 inflammatory diseases, a new atlas presents a comprehensive model of inflammation in circulating immune cells.
Source: Nature Medicine
Authors: Laura Jiménez-Gracia, Davide Maspero, Sergio Aguilar-Fernández, Francesco Craighero, Maria Boulougouri, Max Ruiz, Domenica Marchese, Ginevra Caratù, Jose Liñares-Blanco, Miren Berasategi, Ricardo O. Ramirez Flores, Angela Sanzo-Machuca, Ana M. Corraliza, Hoang A. Tran, Rachelly Normand, Jacquelyn Nestor, Yourae Hong, Tessa Kole, Petra van der Velde, Frederique Alleblas, Flaminia Pedretti, Adrià Aterido, Martin Banchero, German Soriano, Eva Román, Maarten van den Berge, Azucena Salas, Jose Manuel Carrascosa, Antonio Fernández Nebro, Eugeni Domènech, Juan D. Cañete, Jesús Tornero, Javier P. Gisbert, Ernest Choy, Giampiero Girolomoni, Britta Siegmund, Antonio Julià, Violeta Serra, Roberto Elosua, Sabine Tejpar, Silvia Vidal, Martijn C. Nawijn, Ivo Gut, Julio Saez-Rodriguez, Sara Marsal, Alexandra-Chloé Villani, Juan C. Nieto, Holger Heyn
Institutions: Centro Nacional de Análisis Genómico, Universitat de Barcelona, Broad Institute, Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Universidad de Granada, Heidelberg University, University Hospital Heidelberg, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas, Consorci Institut D'Investigacions Biomediques August Pi I Sunyer, KU Leuven, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology, Vall d'Hebron Institut de Recerca, Institut de Recerca Sant Pau, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Hospital Regional Universitario de Málaga, Andalusian Centre for Nanomedicine and Biotechnology, Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Málaga, Universidad de Málaga, Fundació Clínic per a la Recerca Biomèdica, Hospital Universitario de Guadalajara, Hospital Universitario de La Princesa, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Hospital Universitario de La Princesa, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cardiff University, University of Verona, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Universitat de Vic - Universitat Central de Catalunya, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Centro de Investigación en Red en Enfermedades Cardiovasculares, Municipal Institute for Medical Research, Hospital del Mar Research Institute, European Bioinformatics Institute, Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $12,690
Funders: National Science Foundation, European Commission, Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Vlaamse regering, Fondation contre le Cancer, Ministerie van Economische Zaken en Klimaat, Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Ministerio de Universidades
Awards: DECISION ON OPTIMAL COMBINATORIAL THERAPIES IN IMIDS USING SYSTEMS APPROACHES, G1614877517, Integrated multi-scale analysis of translation: single-molecules, omics and computation, Discovering the cellular landscape of the airways and the lung, G2262748287, G2601397997, G300979063, G3480869486, G3681454997, G4042783231, G425668148, G4937468798, G5080475149, G683931746, G7455307701
OpenAlex ID: W7122775556