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Nature Communications  ·  19 September 2026  ·  From issue 39

Extending single-cell proteomics from HeLa to small primary human immune cells

A single lab-grown cell can now reveal up to 7000 of its proteins at once.

Ivo A. Hendriks, Sara C. Buch-Larsen et al.

A new lab method can measure thousands of proteins in a single human cell. It works even on tiny immune cells taken straight from blood. The method found up to 7000 proteins in one lab-grown cell and up to 4000 proteins in single blood immune cells. This let scientists tell apart cell types like monocytes and T cells just from their protein patterns.

The number 7000 proteins

The number of distinct proteins measured inside a single lab-grown cell.

Lab cells and blood cells only, no patient disease data yet.

Integrity screen: passed (3 checks) Checked 22 September 2026. Retraction record: none. DOI resolves at doi.org. Metadata record found (Nature Communications). Read the source

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