celltyp

Celltyp is a term used in computational biology to denote a standardized, machine-readable label for cellular identity. It is intended to support cross-study comparisons of cell identities in high-throughput experiments, including single-cell RNA sequencing and mass cytometry.

Although not a formal ontology itself, celltyp is designed to be linked to established biology ontologies. In practice, a celltyp label may map to an existing ontology entry—such as a term in the Cell Ontology or Uberon—with a unique identifier and defined synonyms. This mapping enables normalization of cell labels across datasets produced by different laboratories or platforms.

A typical celltyp entry is described by a hierarchical structure that can include levels such as domain, lineage, type, and subtype. Each entry carries metadata such as species, tissue context, developmental stage, and the modality of measurement. Annotation workflows assign celltyp labels to individual cells based on gene expression profiles, marker panels, or supervised classifiers, enabling downstream analyses that compare cell identities across studies.

Adoption of the celltyp concept varies, and there is no single governing body enforcing its use. Critics point to challenges of standardization, harmonization with existing ontologies, and the rapid evolution of cell-type definitions as new data emerge.

Related topics include cell type, the Cell Ontology, single-cell sequencing, and ontology-based annotation in biology.