CARTANA In Situ Sequencing (ISS) chosen as key enabling technology in European Horizon 2020 funded projects linked to international Human Cell Atlas initiative
Stockholm, January 23, 2019. The European Union’s Horizon 2020 funding program has confirmed support for six pilot European Human Cell Atlas projects designed to contribute to the international Human Cell Atlas initiative (HCA) with studies of the brain, uterus, lung, pancreas and human gonad development. In parallel, Swedish biotechnology company CARTANA today announced that it is to become a full partner three out of the six funded HCA projects, whereby its In Situ Sequencing (ISS) technology will be applied to spatially map cell types in the different tissue samples. ISS enables single cell gene expression analysis directly inside the tissue samples, while preserving spatial information, thus enabling the creation for the first time of spatial human cell atlases.
European researchers are at the forefront when it comes to combining single cell technologies with analytical methods and computational tools to enable unprecedented characterization of human cells. The Horizon 2020 HCA projects aim to deliver an important contribution to the international Human Cell Atlas initiative (HCA) which will create molecularly defined reference maps of all the cells comprising the human body.
“The Human Cell Atlas is a landmark global initiative that will generate a fantastic resource for researchers and industry. However, in order to generate a true atlas, we not only need to molecularly define and categorize all the types of cells that comprise the human body tissues, we also need to draw the map of where they are actually located inside these tissues. Here our technology will play a key role and we are delighted the EU is supporting the work through Horizon 2020,” says CARTANA’s Malte Kühnemund.
“At a scientific meeting in Brussels in early January arranged by the EU commission, CARTANA was given the opportunity to present the single cell analysis field from an SME perspective. This generated great interest among Europe’s single cell key opinion leaders and representatives of the funded projects that attended the meeting. We finished with a consensus among attendees to push for more EU funding for continued work in the area.”
CARTANA’s ISS technology complements the current single cell analysis methods whereby in order to define and classify the types of cells, tissue samples are dissociated (taken apart) into the individual cells that they are comprised of and then analyzed one by one using single cell RNA sequencing techniques. This generates gene expression profiles of individual cells from the tissue, but their location and, hence, the information about the unique organization of the tissue is lost.
In all three EU H2020 funded projects, it is CARTANA’s mission to generate spatial maps of these molecularly defined cell types in the studied tissue samples. “We are delighted to partner with excellent research groups and companies in these three strong consortia, and we believe that applying our ISS technology will be of key importance for progressing the creation of an overall spatial human cell atlas and an enhanced understanding of human biology and disease.”
For more information visit www.cartana.se.
Notes to editors
Contacts:
Malte Kühnemund, Executive Vice President, Head of R&D and Science, Tel: +46 700 943 733, Email: malte@cartana.se
Media:
Richard Hayhurst, Tel: +44 7711 821527, Email: richard@richardhayhurstassociates.com
About CARTANA
CARTANA is a Swedish spatial genomics company that spun-out from the Science for Life Laboratory in 2017 to commercialize In Situ RNA sequencing technology based on research originally conducted in Mats Nilsson's laboratory. The resulting next generation In Situ Sequencing (ISS) technology is capable of identifying more than 100 genes from a tissue section at single-cell resolution. It is initially being launched for neuroscience, but also has potential widespread applications in immunology and oncology. www.cartana.se.
About the H2020 HCA projects
BRAIN TIME
To create high-quality maps of brain cell types and modelling accurately their functions is a major current challenge, due to multiple factors, including poor availability of samples, complex developmental trajectories, limited utility of mammalian model systems, and insufficiently developed ex-vivo tools. By bringing together excellence in single-cell genomics, neurobiology, organoid models and computational biology, this project aims at building human cell atlases for the human midbrain and hindbrain, especially focusing on the monoaminergic system. Through the US partner at Allen Institute, a crucial connection to the NIH BRAIN initiative will be ensured. The Consortium include Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, Weizman Institute of Science, Israel, ETH, Switzerland, Allen Institute, USA, and CARTANA, Sweden.
DISCOVAIR - Discovering the cellular landscape of the airways and lung
DiscovAIR will establish the first draft of the Human Lung Cell Atlas. By not only study healthy lung tissue, but also cover disease cohorts, the aim is to facilitate progress in regenerative medicine and identify novel candidates for personalized diagnostics and curative interventions in lung disease for the diagnostic and pharmacological industry, thereby contributing to healthy ageing and active living in Europe. Given the high availability of lung tissue through bronchoscopy programs involving healthy volunteers and patients with lung disease, and from lung transplantation and resection programs, lung especially well-suited as a lead organ for the HCA to develop the infrastructure, workflows and platforms needed for a community-driven atlassing effort. Thus, the aim with DiscovAIR is also to serve as blueprints within the HCA community by providing the infrastructure, workflows and platforms developed by the project.
The Consortium include Sanger, United Kingdom, DZNE Bonn, Germany, Scilifelab, Sweden, Helmholz, München, Germany and CARTANA, Sweden.
HUGODECA
The goal of the HUGODECA project is to describe the cellular composition and organization of the developing human gonads and to understand how it changes during sex determination into testes in males and ovaries in females. The project focuses on healthy gonad development, but our reference model will be tested using specific ex vixo assays mimicking Differences/Disorders of Sex Development (DSD). In this project, integration of multiple synergistic expertise and technologies: Single cell profiling, Spatial transcriptomics, 2D Mass cytometry and cyclic immunofluorescence and 3D imaging of optically cleared gonads is in focus.
The Consortium include Institut National de La Sante et de La Recherche Medicale, France, Science for Life laboratory, Sweden, Region Hovedstaden, Denmark, Genome Research Limited, United Kingdom, Inserm Transfert Sa, France, Keen Eye Technologies, France, Miltenyi Biotec, Germany and CARTANA, Sweden.