The function of disease genes active in different cell types is modulated to meet the needs of the different tissues and organs in which the cells reside. Resolving these differences is critical to understanding homeostasis and disease. However, single-cell atlases generated to date have largely focused on individual tissues. Eraslan et al. applied single-nucleus RNA sequencing to frozen, banked samples from eight healthy human organs from 16 donors and characterized cell populations across tissues, including tissue-resident myeloid and fibroblast populations, and their role in tissue support and immunity (see the Perspective by Liu and Zhang). Using this cross-tissue atlas, the authors linked specific cell populations to monogenic and polygenic diseases, suggesting cell- and tissue-specific programs. —LZ and DJ
