Discovering DISCO: application value of a large-scale repository for diverse single-cell omics data

Advanced Technology in Neuroscience 2(3):p 116-121, September 2025. | DOI: 10.4103/ATN.ATN-D-24-00035

Since its emergence in 2009, single-cell RNA sequencing has played a significant role in the fields of biology and medicine, particularly in neuroscience research. However, the rapid growth in data volume has made efficient data analysis a major challenge. To address this issue, this study primarily introduces the Database of Integrated Single-cell Omics (DISCO), which was developed to simplify and automate the single-cell data analysis workflow, providing high-quality resources and a tool for neuroscience research. DISCO is a highly integrated single-cell omics database consolidating data from 19,747 samples, encompassing more than 100 million cells across 461 cell types. By providing tissue, disease, and cell type atlases, DISCO allows researchers to retrieve data through multiple filtering criteria and investigate cell heterogeneity under distinct tissue and disease conditions using its interactive visualization and diversified analytical tools. With its user-friendly interface and robust analytical capabilities, DISCO significantly facilitates a deeper understanding of the biological mechanisms underlying health and disease. DISCO provides researchers with a comprehensive single-cell dataset that meets a variety of analytical needs. It not only offers standard single-cell omics analysis, but also allows users to customize their analyses. The database includes modules for data storage, cell type, atlases, and differential expression analysis, enabling users to investigate cellular heterogeneity and disease mechanisms in depth. The application of DISCO reflects the latest advancements in single-cell RNA sequencing in the field of neuroscience. This technology allows researchers to investigate gene expression at the single-cell level, which is essential for understanding the complexity of the brain and the interactions between neurons and other cell types.

中文摘要

自2009年单细胞RNA测序（scRNA-seq）技术问世以来，该技术在生物学和医学领域，特别是神经科学研究中，发挥了重要作用。然而，随着数据规模的快速增长，如何高效分析这些数据成为一大挑战。为此，文章主要介绍了为了应对这一挑战应运而生的DISCO数据库，它旨在简化并自动化单细胞数据分析流程，为神经科学研究提供高质量的资源和工具。DISCO 是一个高度集成的单细胞组学数据库，整合了来自 19,747 个样本的数据，涵盖 461 种细胞类型的1亿多个细胞。通过提供组织、疾病和细胞类型图谱，DISCO 允许研究人员通过多种过滤标准检索数据，并利用其交互式可视化和多样化分析工具研究不同组织和疾病条件下的细胞异质性。凭借其友好的用户界面和强大的分析能力，DISCO 极大地促进了对健康和疾病的生物机制的深入了解。DISCO数据库为研究人员提供了一个全面的单细胞数据集，支持各种分析需求。它不仅提供了标准的单细胞omics分析流程，还允许用户自定义分析。数据库的功能模块包括数据存储库、细胞类型、图谱和差异表达分析模块，使用户能够深入探索细胞异质性和疾病机制。DISCO数据库的应用体现了单细胞RNA测序技术（scRNA-seq）在神经科学领域的最新进展。scRNA-seq技术允许研究者在单细胞水平上探索神经元和其他细胞的基因表达，这对于理解大脑的复杂性和神经元之间的相互作用至关重要。