Cell communication is a fundamental process that underpins numerous biological functions, from immune responses to tissue repair. The intricate signaling pathways that govern how cells communicate are crucial for maintaining homeostasis and regulating physiological responses. Recent technological advances, including single-cell RNA sequencing, mass cytometry, and high-resolution imaging, have dramatically improved our ability to study these networks and understand how cells coordinate their behavior in response to external cues. Computational tools can now infer intercellular signaling from single-cell and spatial transcriptomics data, identifying key ligand-receptor pairs and signaling pathways. Spatially informed approaches further map these interactions with high resolution, revealing how a cell’s location shapes its communication with neighbors. Complementing these computational methods, experimental technologies such as genetic marking systems can directly label contacting cells in vivo, allowing researchers to track interaction history and study how cellular crosstalk drives development and disease progression.

Future advancements may include the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyze complex datasets, the creation of real-time monitoring systems for live-cell interactions, and the establishment of standardized protocols for cell communication analysis. These innovations could significantly enhance our ability to dissect cellular communication networks and their roles in health and disease.

In light of these developments, BMC Methods is opening a collection on “Cell communication analysis technology.” Topics of interest include:

• Novel imaging techniques for cell communication
• Advancements or improvements in single-cell analysis methods
• Computational modeling of cell signaling pathways
• Intercellular communication in cancer progression

Submissions should present an experimental or computational method for the analysis of cell–cell communication. The method may be completely new or offer an improved version of an existing method, but in either case it must represent a clear advance over what is currently available, be tested and validated, and include a discussion of its advantages and limitations relative to alternative approaches. Protocols describing routine or well-established methods without methodological innovation will not be considered for publication.

All manuscripts submitted to this journal, including those submitted to collections and special issues, are assessed in line with our editorial policies and the journal’s peer review process. Reviewers and editors are required to declare competing interests and can be excluded from the peer review process if a competing interest exists.