Complementing cell taxonomies with a multicellular functional analysis of tissues

Abstract

The application of single-cell molecular profiling coupled with spatial technologies has enabled charting cellular heterogeneity in reference tissues and in disease. This new wave of molecular data has highlighted the expected diversity of single-cell dynamics upon shared external queues and spatial organizations. However, little is known about the relationship between single cell heterogeneity and the emergence and maintenance of robust multicellular processes in developed tissues and its role in (patho)physiology. Here, we present emerging computational modeling strategies that use increasingly available large-scale cross-condition single cell and spatial datasets, to study multicellular organization in tissues and complement cell taxonomies. This perspective should enable us to better understand how cells within tissues collectively process information and adapt synchronized responses in disease contexts and to bridge the gap between structural changes and functions in tissues.