Longevity & Aging

Scientists Map How Human Cells Coordinate Across Tissues and How Cancer Breaks This Order

Researchers at Peking University assembled a 2.3-million-cell transcriptomic atlas spanning 35 human tissues and developed a computational tool called CoVarNet to identify 12 recurring 'cellular modules' (CMs)—groups of cell types that co-occur and communicate in coordinated ways across tissues. These modules have distinct spatial organizations, age-related dynamics, and tissue preferences. In the spleen, two immune CMs show opposing trajectories with aging. In breast tissue, a menopausal fibroblast-driven transition was mapped. Critically, in cancer, two simultaneous changes occur: healthy tissue-specific modules are lost, and a convergent pro-tumor ecosystem emerges across cancer types. The findings establish fundamental organizing principles of multicellular coordination in health and disease.