Language
English
Publication Date
7-1-2025
Journal
Nature
DOI
10.1038/s41586-025-09096-7
PMID
40604182
PMCID
PMC12875085
PubMedCentral® Posted Date
2-6-2026
PubMedCentral® Full Text Version
Author MSS
Abstract
From fertilization onwards, the cells of the human body acquire variations in their DNA sequence, known as somatic mutations. These postzygotic mutations arise from intrinsic errors in DNA replication and repair, as well as from exposure to mutagens. Somatic mutations have been implicated in some diseases, but a fundamental understanding of the frequency, type and patterns of mutations across healthy human tissues has been limited. This is primarily due to the small proportion of cells harbouring specific somatic variants within an individual, making them more challenging to detect than inherited variants. Here we describe the Somatic Mosaicism across Human Tissues Network, which aims to create a reference catalogue of somatic mutations and their clonal patterns across 19 different tissue sites from 150 non-diseased donors and develop new technologies and computational tools to detect somatic mutations and assess their phenotypic consequences, including clonal expansions. This strategy enables a comprehensive examination of the mutational landscape across the human body, and provides a comparison baseline for somatic mutation in diseases. This will lead to a deep understanding of somatic mutations and clonal expansions across the lifespan, as well as their roles in health, in ageing and, by comparison, in diseases.
Keywords
Humans, Mosaicism, Mutation, Clone Cells, Organ Specificity, Phenotype, Female, Male, Aging
Published Open-Access
yes
Recommended Citation
Coorens, Tim H H; Oh, Ji Won; Choi, Yujin Angelina; et al., "The Somatic Mosaicism across Human Tissues Network" (2025). Huffington Center on Aging Staff Publications. 76.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/aging_research/76