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Grützmann K, Kraft T, Meinhardt M, Meier F, Westphal D, Seifert M. Network-based analysis of heterogeneous patient-matched brain and extracranial melanoma metastasis pairs reveals three homogeneous subgroups. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2024; 23:1036-1050. [PMID: 38464935 PMCID: PMC10920107 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2024.02.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2023] [Revised: 02/15/2024] [Accepted: 02/15/2024] [Indexed: 03/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, can metastasize to different organs. Molecular differences between brain and extracranial melanoma metastases are poorly understood. Here, promoter methylation and gene expression of 11 heterogeneous patient-matched pairs of brain and extracranial metastases were analyzed using melanoma-specific gene regulatory networks learned from public transcriptome and methylome data followed by network-based impact propagation of patient-specific alterations. This innovative data analysis strategy allowed to predict potential impacts of patient-specific driver candidate genes on other genes and pathways. The patient-matched metastasis pairs clustered into three robust subgroups with specific downstream targets with known roles in cancer, including melanoma (SG1: RBM38, BCL11B, SG2: GATA3, FES, SG3: SLAMF6, PYCARD). Patient subgroups and ranking of target gene candidates were confirmed in a validation cohort. Summarizing, computational network-based impact analyses of heterogeneous metastasis pairs predicted individual regulatory differences in melanoma brain metastases, cumulating into three consistent subgroups with specific downstream target genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Konrad Grützmann
- Institute for Medical Informatics and Biometry, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Theresa Kraft
- Institute for Medical Informatics and Biometry, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Matthias Meinhardt
- Department of Pathology, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden, TU Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Friedegund Meier
- Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden, TU Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
- National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), D-01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Dana Westphal
- Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden, TU Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
- National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), D-01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Michael Seifert
- Institute for Medical Informatics and Biometry, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
- National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), D-01307 Dresden, Germany
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2
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Beres B, Kovacs KD, Kanyo N, Peter B, Szekacs I, Horvath R. Label-Free Single-Cell Cancer Classification from the Spatial Distribution of Adhesion Contact Kinetics. ACS Sens 2024. [PMID: 39082162 DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.4c01139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/03/2024]
Abstract
There is an increasing need for simple-to-use, noninvasive, and rapid tools to identify and separate various cell types or subtypes at the single-cell level with sufficient throughput. Often, the selection of cells based on their direct biological activity would be advantageous. These steps are critical in immune therapy, regenerative medicine, cancer diagnostics, and effective treatment. Today, live cell selection procedures incorporate some kind of biomolecular labeling or other invasive measures, which may impact cellular functionality or cause damage to the cells. In this study, we first introduce a highly accurate single-cell segmentation methodology by combining the high spatial resolution of a phase-contrast microscope with the adhesion kinetic recording capability of a resonant waveguide grating (RWG) biosensor. We present a classification workflow that incorporates the semiautomatic separation and classification of single cells from the measurement data captured by an RWG-based biosensor for adhesion kinetics data and a phase-contrast microscope for highly accurate spatial resolution. The methodology was tested with one healthy and six cancer cell types recorded with two functionalized coatings. The data set contains over 5000 single-cell samples for each surface and over 12,000 samples in total. We compare and evaluate the classification using these two types of surfaces (fibronectin and noncoated) with different segmentation strategies and measurement timespans applied to our classifiers. The overall classification performance reached nearly 95% with the best models showing that our proof-of-concept methodology could be adapted for real-life automatic diagnostics use cases. The label-free measurement technique has no impact on cellular functionality, directly measures cellular activity, and can be easily tuned to a specific application by varying the sensor coating. These features make it suitable for applications requiring further processing of selected cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Balint Beres
- Nanobiosensorics Laboratory, Institute of Technical Physics and Materials Science, HUN-REN Centre for Energy Research, Konkoly-Thege út 29-33, Budapest H-1121, Hungary
- Department of Automation and Applied Informatics, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Műegyetem rkp. 3, Budapest H-1111, Hungary
| | - Kinga Dora Kovacs
- Nanobiosensorics Laboratory, Institute of Technical Physics and Materials Science, HUN-REN Centre for Energy Research, Konkoly-Thege út 29-33, Budapest H-1121, Hungary
- Department of Biological Physics, Eötvös University, Pázmány Péter stny. 1/A, Budapest H-1117, Hungary
| | - Nicolett Kanyo
- Nanobiosensorics Laboratory, Institute of Technical Physics and Materials Science, HUN-REN Centre for Energy Research, Konkoly-Thege út 29-33, Budapest H-1121, Hungary
| | - Beatrix Peter
- Nanobiosensorics Laboratory, Institute of Technical Physics and Materials Science, HUN-REN Centre for Energy Research, Konkoly-Thege út 29-33, Budapest H-1121, Hungary
| | - Inna Szekacs
- Nanobiosensorics Laboratory, Institute of Technical Physics and Materials Science, HUN-REN Centre for Energy Research, Konkoly-Thege út 29-33, Budapest H-1121, Hungary
| | - Robert Horvath
- Nanobiosensorics Laboratory, Institute of Technical Physics and Materials Science, HUN-REN Centre for Energy Research, Konkoly-Thege út 29-33, Budapest H-1121, Hungary
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3
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Wang N, Hu L, Walsh AJ. Evaluation of Cellpose segmentation with sequential thresholding for instance segmentation of cytoplasms within autofluorescence images. Comput Biol Med 2024; 179:108846. [PMID: 38976959 DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2024.108846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2023] [Revised: 07/01/2024] [Accepted: 07/02/2024] [Indexed: 07/10/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Autofluorescence imaging of the coenzyme, reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (phosphate) (NAD(P)H), provides a label-free technique to assess cellular metabolism. Because NAD(P)H is localized in the cytosol and mitochondria, instance segmentation of cell cytoplasms from NAD(P)H images allows quantification of metabolism with cellular resolution. However, accurate cytoplasmic segmentation of autofluorescence images is difficult due to irregular cell shapes and cell clusters. METHOD Here, a cytoplasm segmentation method is presented and tested. First, autofluorescence images are segmented into cells via either hand-segmentation or Cellpose, a deep learning-based segmentation method. Then, a cytoplasmic post-processing algorithm (CPPA) is applied for cytoplasmic segmentation. CPPA uses a binarized segmentation image to remove non-segmented pixels from the NAD(P)H image and then applies an intensity-based threshold to identify nuclei regions. Errors at cell edges are removed using a distance transform algorithm. The nucleus mask is then subtracted from the cell segmented image to yield the cytoplasm mask image. CPPA was tested on five NAD(P)H images of three different cell samples, quiescent T cells, activated T cells, and MCF7 cells. RESULTS Using POSEA, an evaluation method tailored for instance segmentation, the CPPA yielded F-measure values of 0.89, 0.87, and 0.94 for quiescent T cells, activated T cells, and MCF7 cells, respectively, for cytoplasm identification of hand-segmented cells. CPPA achieved F-measure values of 0.84, 0.74, and 0.72 for Cellpose segmented cells. CONCLUSION These results exceed the F-measure value of a comparative cell segmentation method (CellProfiler, ∼0.50-0.60) and support the use of artificial intelligence and post-processing techniques for accurate segmentation of autofluorescence images for single-cell metabolic analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nianchao Wang
- Texas A&M University, 3120 TAMU, College Station, 77840, United States
| | - Linghao Hu
- Texas A&M University, 3120 TAMU, College Station, 77840, United States
| | - Alex J Walsh
- Texas A&M University, 3120 TAMU, College Station, 77840, United States.
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Wang Y, Zhou F, Guan J. SFINN: inferring gene regulatory network from single-cell and spatial transcriptomic data with shared factor neighborhood and integrated neural network. BIOINFORMATICS (OXFORD, ENGLAND) 2024; 40:btae433. [PMID: 38950180 PMCID: PMC11236097 DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btae433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2024] [Revised: 06/18/2024] [Accepted: 06/28/2024] [Indexed: 07/03/2024]
Abstract
MOTIVATION The rise of single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) technology presents new opportunities for constructing detailed cell type-specific gene regulatory networks (GRNs) to study cell heterogeneity. However, challenges caused by noises, technical errors, and dropout phenomena in scRNA-seq data pose significant obstacles to GRN inference, making the design of accurate GRN inference algorithms still essential. The recent growth of both single-cell and spatial transcriptomic sequencing data enables the development of supervised deep learning methods to infer GRNs on these diverse single-cell datasets. RESULTS In this study, we introduce a novel deep learning framework based on shared factor neighborhood and integrated neural network (SFINN) for inferring potential interactions and causalities between transcription factors and target genes from single-cell and spatial transcriptomic data. SFINN utilizes shared factor neighborhood to construct cellular neighborhood network based on gene expression data and additionally integrates cellular network generated from spatial location information. Subsequently, the cell adjacency matrix and gene pair expression are fed into an integrated neural network framework consisting of a graph convolutional neural network and a fully-connected neural network to determine whether the genes interact. Performance evaluation in the tasks of gene interaction and causality prediction against the existing GRN reconstruction algorithms demonstrates the usability and competitiveness of SFINN across different kinds of data. SFINN can be applied to infer GRNs from conventional single-cell sequencing data and spatial transcriptomic data. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION SFINN can be accessed at GitHub: https://github.com/JGuan-lab/SFINN.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yongjie Wang
- Department of Automation, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361102, China
| | - Fengfan Zhou
- Department of Automation, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361102, China
| | - Jinting Guan
- Department of Automation, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361102, China
- Key Laboratory of System Control and Information Processing, Ministry of Education, Shanghai 200240, China
- National Institute for Data Science in Health and Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361102, China
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Hing B, Mitchell SB, Filali Y, Eberle M, Hultman I, Matkovich M, Kasturirangan M, Johnson M, Wyche W, Jimenez A, Velamuri R, Ghumman M, Wickramasinghe H, Christian O, Srivastava S, Hultman R. Transcriptomic Evaluation of a Stress Vulnerability Network Using Single-Cell RNA Sequencing in Mouse Prefrontal Cortex. Biol Psychiatry 2024:S0006-3223(24)01363-5. [PMID: 38866174 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2024.05.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2023] [Revised: 04/24/2024] [Accepted: 05/27/2024] [Indexed: 06/14/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Increased vulnerability to stress is a major risk factor for several mood disorders, including major depressive disorder. Although cellular and molecular mechanisms associated with depressive behaviors following stress have been identified, little is known about the mechanisms that confer the vulnerability that predisposes individuals to future damage from chronic stress. METHODS We used multisite in vivo neurophysiology in freely behaving male and female C57BL/6 mice (n = 12) to measure electrical brain network activity previously identified as indicating a latent stress vulnerability brain state. We combined this neurophysiological approach with single-cell RNA sequencing of the prefrontal cortex to identify distinct transcriptomic differences between groups of mice with inherent high and low stress vulnerability. RESULTS We identified hundreds of differentially expressed genes (padjusted < .05) across 5 major cell types in animals with high and low stress vulnerability brain network activity. This unique analysis revealed that GABAergic (gamma-aminobutyric acidergic) neuron gene expression contributed most to the network activity of the stress vulnerability brain state. Upregulation of mitochondrial and metabolic pathways also distinguished high and low vulnerability brain states, especially in inhibitory neurons. Importantly, genes that were differentially regulated with vulnerability network activity significantly overlapped (above chance) with those identified by genome-wide association studies as having single nucleotide polymorphisms significantly associated with depression as well as genes more highly expressed in postmortem prefrontal cortex of patients with major depressive disorder. CONCLUSIONS This is the first study to identify cell types and genes involved in a latent stress vulnerability state in the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Hing
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
| | - Sara B Mitchell
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa; Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
| | - Yassine Filali
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa; Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
| | - Maureen Eberle
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
| | - Ian Hultman
- Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
| | - Molly Matkovich
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
| | | | - Micah Johnson
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa; Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
| | - Whitney Wyche
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
| | - Alli Jimenez
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
| | - Radha Velamuri
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
| | - Mahnoor Ghumman
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
| | - Himali Wickramasinghe
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
| | - Olivia Christian
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
| | - Sanvesh Srivastava
- Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
| | - Rainbo Hultman
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa; Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa.
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Hwang H, Jeon H, Yeo N, Baek D. Big data and deep learning for RNA biology. Exp Mol Med 2024; 56:1293-1321. [PMID: 38871816 PMCID: PMC11263376 DOI: 10.1038/s12276-024-01243-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2024] [Revised: 02/27/2024] [Accepted: 03/05/2024] [Indexed: 06/15/2024] Open
Abstract
The exponential growth of big data in RNA biology (RB) has led to the development of deep learning (DL) models that have driven crucial discoveries. As constantly evidenced by DL studies in other fields, the successful implementation of DL in RB depends heavily on the effective utilization of large-scale datasets from public databases. In achieving this goal, data encoding methods, learning algorithms, and techniques that align well with biological domain knowledge have played pivotal roles. In this review, we provide guiding principles for applying these DL concepts to various problems in RB by demonstrating successful examples and associated methodologies. We also discuss the remaining challenges in developing DL models for RB and suggest strategies to overcome these challenges. Overall, this review aims to illuminate the compelling potential of DL for RB and ways to apply this powerful technology to investigate the intriguing biology of RNA more effectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyeonseo Hwang
- School of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyeonseong Jeon
- Interdisciplinary Program in Bioinformatics, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- Genome4me Inc., Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Nagyeong Yeo
- School of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Daehyun Baek
- School of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
- Interdisciplinary Program in Bioinformatics, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
- Genome4me Inc., Seoul, Republic of Korea.
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7
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Liukang C, Zhao J, Tian J, Huang M, Liang R, Zhao Y, Zhang G. Deciphering infected cell types, hub gene networks and cell-cell communication in infectious bronchitis virus via single-cell RNA sequencing. PLoS Pathog 2024; 20:e1012232. [PMID: 38743760 PMCID: PMC11125504 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1012232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2023] [Revised: 05/24/2024] [Accepted: 04/29/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) is a coronavirus that infects chickens, which exhibits a broad tropism for epithelial cells, infecting the tracheal mucosal epithelium, intestinal mucosal epithelium, and renal tubular epithelial cells. Utilizing single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), we systematically examined cells in renal, bursal, and tracheal tissues following IBV infection and identified tissue-specific molecular markers expressed in distinct cell types. We evaluated the expression of viral RNA in diverse cellular populations and subsequently ascertained that distal tubules and collecting ducts within the kidney, bursal mucosal epithelial cells, and follicle-associated epithelial cells exhibit susceptibility to IBV infection through immunofluorescence. Furthermore, our findings revealed an upregulation in the transcription of proinflammatory cytokines IL18 and IL1B in renal macrophages as well as increased expression of apoptosis-related gene STAT in distal tubules and collecting duct cells upon IBV infection leading to renal damage. Cell-to-cell communication unveiled potential interactions between diverse cell types, as well as upregulated signaling pathways and key sender-receiver cell populations after IBV infection. Integrating single-cell data from all tissues, we applied weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) to identify gene modules that are specifically expressed in different cell populations. Based on the WGCNA results, we identified seven immune-related gene modules and determined the differential expression pattern of module genes, as well as the hub genes within these modules. Our comprehensive data provides valuable insights into the pathogenesis of IBV as well as avian antiviral immunology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chengyin Liukang
- National Key Laboratory of Veterinary Public Health Security, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Epidemiology of the Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Jing Zhao
- National Key Laboratory of Veterinary Public Health Security, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Epidemiology of the Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Jiaxin Tian
- National Key Laboratory of Veterinary Public Health Security, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Min Huang
- National Key Laboratory of Veterinary Public Health Security, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Rong Liang
- National Key Laboratory of Veterinary Public Health Security, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Ye Zhao
- National Key Laboratory of Veterinary Public Health Security, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Epidemiology of the Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Guozhong Zhang
- National Key Laboratory of Veterinary Public Health Security, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Epidemiology of the Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
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8
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Shen W, Liu C, Hu Y, Lei Y, Wong HS, Wu S, Zhou XM. Leveraging cross-source heterogeneity to improve the performance of bulk gene expression deconvolution. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.04.07.588458. [PMID: 38645128 PMCID: PMC11030304 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.07.588458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/23/2024]
Abstract
A main limitation of bulk transcriptomic technologies is that individual measurements normally contain contributions from multiple cell populations, impeding the identification of cellular heterogeneity within diseased tissues. To extract cellular insights from existing large cohorts of bulk transcriptomic data, we present CSsingle, a novel method designed to accurately deconvolve bulk data into a predefined set of cell types using a scRNA-seq reference. Through comprehensive benchmark evaluations and analyses using diverse real data sets, we reveal the systematic bias inherent in existing methods, stemming from differences in cell size or library size. Our extensive experiments demonstrate that CSsingle exhibits superior accuracy and robustness compared to leading methods, particularly when dealing with bulk mixtures originating from cell types of markedly different cell sizes, as well as when handling bulk and single-cell reference data obtained from diverse sources. Our work provides an efficient and robust methodology for the integrated analysis of bulk and scRNA-seq data, facilitating various biological and clinical studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenjun Shen
- Department of Bioinformatics, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong 515041, China
| | - Cheng Liu
- Department of Computer Science, Shantou University, Shantou, Guangdong 515041, China
| | - Yunfei Hu
- Department of Computer Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
| | - Yuanfang Lei
- Department of Bioinformatics, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong 515041, China
| | - Hau-San Wong
- Department of Computer Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong
| | - Si Wu
- Department of Computer Science, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510006, China
| | - Xin Maizie Zhou
- Department of Computer Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
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9
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Yang B, Hu S, Jiang Y, Xu L, Shu S, Zhang H. Advancements in Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Research for Neurological Diseases. Mol Neurobiol 2024:10.1007/s12035-024-04126-3. [PMID: 38564138 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-024-04126-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2023] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
Neurological diseases are a major cause of the global burden of disease. Although the mechanisms of the occurrence and development of neurological diseases are not fully clear, most of them are associated with cells mediating neuroinflammation. Yet medications and other therapeutic options to improve treatment are still very limited. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), as a delightfully potent breakthrough technology, not only identifies various cell types and response states but also uncovers cell-specific gene expression changes, gene regulatory networks, intercellular communication, and cellular movement trajectories, among others, in different cell types. In this review, we describe the technology of scRNA-seq in detail and discuss and summarize the application of scRNA-seq in exploring neurological diseases, elaborating the corresponding specific mechanisms of the diseases as well as providing a reliable basis for new therapeutic approaches. Finally, we affirm that scRNA-seq promotes the development of the neuroscience field and enables us to have a deeper cellular understanding of neurological diseases in the future, which provides strong support for the treatment of neurological diseases and the improvement of patients' prognosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bingjie Yang
- Department of Neurology, The Fourth Clinical School of Medicine, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Shuqi Hu
- Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Department of Neurology, Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Westlake University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yiru Jiang
- Department of Neurology, The Fourth Clinical School of Medicine, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Lei Xu
- Department of Neurology, Zhejiang Rongjun Hospital, Jiaxing, Zhejiang, China
| | - Song Shu
- Department of Neurology, Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Westlake University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Hao Zhang
- Department of Neurology, The Fourth Clinical School of Medicine, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
- Department of Neurology, Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Westlake University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
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10
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Huang X, Song C, Zhang G, Li Y, Zhao Y, Zhang Q, Zhang Y, Fan S, Zhao J, Xie L, Li C. scGRN: a comprehensive single-cell gene regulatory network platform of human and mouse. Nucleic Acids Res 2024; 52:D293-D303. [PMID: 37889053 PMCID: PMC10767939 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkad885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2023] [Revised: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Gene regulatory networks (GRNs) are interpretable graph models encompassing the regulatory interactions between transcription factors (TFs) and their downstream target genes. Making sense of the topology and dynamics of GRNs is fundamental to interpreting the mechanisms of disease etiology and translating corresponding findings into novel therapies. Recent advances in single-cell multi-omics techniques have prompted the computational inference of GRNs from single-cell transcriptomic and epigenomic data at an unprecedented resolution. Here, we present scGRN (https://bio.liclab.net/scGRN/), a comprehensive single-cell multi-omics gene regulatory network platform of human and mouse. The current version of scGRN catalogs 237 051 cell type-specific GRNs (62 999 692 TF-target gene pairs), covering 160 tissues/cell lines and 1324 single-cell samples. scGRN is the first resource documenting large-scale cell type-specific GRN information of diverse human and mouse conditions inferred from single-cell multi-omics data. We have implemented multiple online tools for effective GRN analysis, including differential TF-target network analysis, TF enrichment analysis, and pathway downstream analysis. We also provided details about TF binding to promoters, super-enhancers and typical enhancers of target genes in GRNs. Taken together, scGRN is an integrative and useful platform for searching, browsing, analyzing, visualizing and downloading GRNs of interest, enabling insight into the differences in regulatory mechanisms across diverse conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuemei Huang
- The First Affiliated Hospital & MOE Key Lab of Rare Pediatric Diseases, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China
- Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Multi-omics and Artificial Intelligence of Cardiovascular Diseases & College of Basic Medical Sciences, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China
- School of Computer, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China
- The First Affiliated Hospital, Cardiovascular Lab of Big Data and Imaging Artificial Intelligence, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China
| | - Chao Song
- The First Affiliated Hospital & MOE Key Lab of Rare Pediatric Diseases, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China
- Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Multi-omics and Artificial Intelligence of Cardiovascular Diseases & College of Basic Medical Sciences, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China
- The First Affiliated Hospital, Cardiovascular Lab of Big Data and Imaging Artificial Intelligence, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China
- The First Affiliated Hospital, Department of Cardiology, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, China
| | - Guorui Zhang
- The First Affiliated Hospital & MOE Key Lab of Rare Pediatric Diseases, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China
- Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Multi-omics and Artificial Intelligence of Cardiovascular Diseases & College of Basic Medical Sciences, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China
- The First Affiliated Hospital, Cardiovascular Lab of Big Data and Imaging Artificial Intelligence, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China
| | - Ye Li
- The First Affiliated Hospital & MOE Key Lab of Rare Pediatric Diseases, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China
- Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Multi-omics and Artificial Intelligence of Cardiovascular Diseases & College of Basic Medical Sciences, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China
- The First Affiliated Hospital, Cardiovascular Lab of Big Data and Imaging Artificial Intelligence, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China
| | - Yu Zhao
- The First Affiliated Hospital & MOE Key Lab of Rare Pediatric Diseases, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China
- Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Multi-omics and Artificial Intelligence of Cardiovascular Diseases & College of Basic Medical Sciences, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China
- School of Computer, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China
- The First Affiliated Hospital, Cardiovascular Lab of Big Data and Imaging Artificial Intelligence, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China
| | - Qinyi Zhang
- Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Multi-omics and Artificial Intelligence of Cardiovascular Diseases & College of Basic Medical Sciences, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China
| | - Yuexin Zhang
- The First Affiliated Hospital & MOE Key Lab of Rare Pediatric Diseases, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China
- Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Multi-omics and Artificial Intelligence of Cardiovascular Diseases & College of Basic Medical Sciences, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China
- The First Affiliated Hospital, Cardiovascular Lab of Big Data and Imaging Artificial Intelligence, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China
- The First Affiliated Hospital, Institute of Cardiovascular Disease, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China
| | - Shifan Fan
- The First Affiliated Hospital & MOE Key Lab of Rare Pediatric Diseases, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China
- Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Multi-omics and Artificial Intelligence of Cardiovascular Diseases & College of Basic Medical Sciences, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China
- School of Computer, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China
- The First Affiliated Hospital, Cardiovascular Lab of Big Data and Imaging Artificial Intelligence, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China
| | - Jun Zhao
- The First Affiliated Hospital & MOE Key Lab of Rare Pediatric Diseases, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China
| | - Liyuan Xie
- The First Affiliated Hospital & MOE Key Lab of Rare Pediatric Diseases, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China
- Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Multi-omics and Artificial Intelligence of Cardiovascular Diseases & College of Basic Medical Sciences, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China
- School of Computer, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China
- The First Affiliated Hospital, Cardiovascular Lab of Big Data and Imaging Artificial Intelligence, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China
| | - Chunquan Li
- The First Affiliated Hospital & MOE Key Lab of Rare Pediatric Diseases, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China
- Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Multi-omics and Artificial Intelligence of Cardiovascular Diseases & College of Basic Medical Sciences, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China
- School of Computer, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China
- Hunan Provincial Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Birth Defect Research and Prevention, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China
- The First Affiliated Hospital, Cardiovascular Lab of Big Data and Imaging Artificial Intelligence, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, China
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11
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Merelli I, Beretta S, Cesana D, Gennari A, Benedicenti F, Spinozzi G, Cesini D, Montini E, D’Agostino D, Calabria A. InCliniGene enables high-throughput and comprehensive in vivo clonal tracking toward clinical genomics data integration. Database (Oxford) 2023; 2023:baad069. [PMID: 37935583 PMCID: PMC10630073 DOI: 10.1093/database/baad069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2022] [Revised: 08/15/2023] [Accepted: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 11/09/2023]
Abstract
High-throughput clonal tracking in patients under hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy with integrating vector is instrumental in assessing bio-safety and efficacy. Monitoring the fate of millions of transplanted clones and their progeny across differentiation and proliferation over time leverages the identification of the vector integration sites, used as surrogates of clonal identity. Although γ-tracking retroviral insertion sites (γ-TRIS) is the state-of-the-art algorithm for clonal identification, the computational drawbacks in the tracking algorithm, based on a combinatorial all-versus-all strategy, limit its use in clinical studies with several thousands of samples per patient. We developed the first clonal tracking graph database, InCliniGene (https://github.com/calabrialab/InCliniGene), that imports the output files of γ-TRIS and generates the graph of clones (nodes) connected by arches if two nodes share common genomic features as defined by the γ-TRIS rules. Embedding both clonal data and their connections in the graph, InCliniGene can track all clones longitudinally over samples through data queries that fully explore the graph. This approach resulted in being highly accurate and scalable. We validated InCliniGene using an in vitro dataset, specifically designed to mimic clinical cases, and tested the accuracy and precision. InCliniGene allows extensive use of γ-TRIS in large gene therapy clinical applications and naturally realizes the full data integration of molecular and genomics data, clinical and treatment measurements and genomic annotations. Further extensions of InCliniGene with data federation and with application programming interface will support data mining toward precision, personalized and predictive medicine in gene therapy. Database URL: https://github.com/calabrialab/InCliniGene.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Stefano Beretta
- San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy, IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, Via Olgettina 60, Milano 20132, Italy
| | - Daniela Cesana
- San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy, IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, Via Olgettina 60, Milano 20132, Italy
| | - Alessandro Gennari
- San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy, IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, Via Olgettina 60, Milano 20132, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Benedicenti
- San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy, IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, Via Olgettina 60, Milano 20132, Italy
| | - Giulio Spinozzi
- San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy, IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, Via Olgettina 60, Milano 20132, Italy
| | - Daniele Cesini
- Centro Nazionale Analisi Fotogrammi (CNAF), Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Viale Carlo Berti Pichat 6/2, Bologna 40127, Italy
| | - Eugenio Montini
- San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy, IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, Via Olgettina 60, Milano 20132, Italy
| | - Daniele D’Agostino
- Dipartimento di Informatica, Bioingegneria, Robotica e Ingegneria dei Sistemi (DIBRIS), Università degli Studi di Genova, Viale Causa 13, Genoa 16145, Italy
- Institute of Biomedical Technologies, Italian National Research Council, Via Fratelli Cervi 93, Segrate (MI) 20054, Italy
- San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy, IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, Via Olgettina 60, Milano 20132, Italy
| | - Andrea Calabria
- San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy, IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, Via Olgettina 60, Milano 20132, Italy
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12
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Badia-I-Mompel P, Wessels L, Müller-Dott S, Trimbour R, Ramirez Flores RO, Argelaguet R, Saez-Rodriguez J. Gene regulatory network inference in the era of single-cell multi-omics. Nat Rev Genet 2023; 24:739-754. [PMID: 37365273 DOI: 10.1038/s41576-023-00618-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 48.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/12/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023]
Abstract
The interplay between chromatin, transcription factors and genes generates complex regulatory circuits that can be represented as gene regulatory networks (GRNs). The study of GRNs is useful to understand how cellular identity is established, maintained and disrupted in disease. GRNs can be inferred from experimental data - historically, bulk omics data - and/or from the literature. The advent of single-cell multi-omics technologies has led to the development of novel computational methods that leverage genomic, transcriptomic and chromatin accessibility information to infer GRNs at an unprecedented resolution. Here, we review the key principles of inferring GRNs that encompass transcription factor-gene interactions from transcriptomics and chromatin accessibility data. We focus on the comparison and classification of methods that use single-cell multimodal data. We highlight challenges in GRN inference, in particular with respect to benchmarking, and potential further developments using additional data modalities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pau Badia-I-Mompel
- Heidelberg University, Faculty of Medicine, Heidelberg University Hospital, Institute for Computational Biomedicine, Bioquant, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Lorna Wessels
- Heidelberg University, Faculty of Medicine, Heidelberg University Hospital, Institute for Computational Biomedicine, Bioquant, Heidelberg, Germany
- Department of Vascular Biology and Tumor Angiogenesis, European Center for Angioscience, Medical Faculty, MannHeim Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Sophia Müller-Dott
- Heidelberg University, Faculty of Medicine, Heidelberg University Hospital, Institute for Computational Biomedicine, Bioquant, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Rémi Trimbour
- Heidelberg University, Faculty of Medicine, Heidelberg University Hospital, Institute for Computational Biomedicine, Bioquant, Heidelberg, Germany
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, CNRS UMR 3738, Machine Learning for Integrative Genomics Group, Paris, France
| | - Ricardo O Ramirez Flores
- Heidelberg University, Faculty of Medicine, Heidelberg University Hospital, Institute for Computational Biomedicine, Bioquant, Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | - Julio Saez-Rodriguez
- Heidelberg University, Faculty of Medicine, Heidelberg University Hospital, Institute for Computational Biomedicine, Bioquant, Heidelberg, Germany.
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13
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Kim D, Tran A, Kim HJ, Lin Y, Yang JYH, Yang P. Gene regulatory network reconstruction: harnessing the power of single-cell multi-omic data. NPJ Syst Biol Appl 2023; 9:51. [PMID: 37857632 PMCID: PMC10587078 DOI: 10.1038/s41540-023-00312-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2023] [Accepted: 10/02/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Inferring gene regulatory networks (GRNs) is a fundamental challenge in biology that aims to unravel the complex relationships between genes and their regulators. Deciphering these networks plays a critical role in understanding the underlying regulatory crosstalk that drives many cellular processes and diseases. Recent advances in sequencing technology have led to the development of state-of-the-art GRN inference methods that exploit matched single-cell multi-omic data. By employing diverse mathematical and statistical methodologies, these methods aim to reconstruct more comprehensive and precise gene regulatory networks. In this review, we give a brief overview on the statistical and methodological foundations commonly used in GRN inference methods. We then compare and contrast the latest state-of-the-art GRN inference methods for single-cell matched multi-omics data, and discuss their assumptions, limitations and opportunities. Finally, we discuss the challenges and future directions that hold promise for further advancements in this rapidly developing field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Kim
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
- Computational Systems Biology Unit, Children's Medical Research Institute, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
- Sydney Precision Data Science Centre, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
| | - Andy Tran
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
- Sydney Precision Data Science Centre, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
- Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
| | - Hani Jieun Kim
- Computational Systems Biology Unit, Children's Medical Research Institute, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
- Sydney Precision Data Science Centre, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
| | - Yingxin Lin
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
- Sydney Precision Data Science Centre, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
- Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
| | - Jean Yee Hwa Yang
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.
- Sydney Precision Data Science Centre, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.
- Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.
| | - Pengyi Yang
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.
- Computational Systems Biology Unit, Children's Medical Research Institute, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.
- Sydney Precision Data Science Centre, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.
- Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.
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14
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Wang T, Zhao H, Xu Y, Wang Y, Shang X, Peng J, Xiao B. scMultiGAN: cell-specific imputation for single-cell transcriptomes with multiple deep generative adversarial networks. Brief Bioinform 2023; 24:bbad384. [PMID: 37903416 PMCID: PMC11020228 DOI: 10.1093/bib/bbad384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2023] [Revised: 09/13/2023] [Accepted: 10/03/2023] [Indexed: 11/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The emergence of single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) technology has revolutionized the identification of cell types and the study of cellular states at a single-cell level. Despite its significant potential, scRNA-seq data analysis is plagued by the issue of missing values. Many existing imputation methods rely on simplistic data distribution assumptions while ignoring the intrinsic gene expression distribution specific to cells. This work presents a novel deep-learning model, named scMultiGAN, for scRNA-seq imputation, which utilizes multiple collaborative generative adversarial networks (GAN). Unlike traditional GAN-based imputation methods that generate missing values based on random noises, scMultiGAN employs a two-stage training process and utilizes multiple GANs to achieve cell-specific imputation. Experimental results show the efficacy of scMultiGAN in imputation accuracy, cell clustering, differential gene expression analysis and trajectory analysis, significantly outperforming existing state-of-the-art techniques. Additionally, scMultiGAN is scalable to large scRNA-seq datasets and consistently performs well across sequencing platforms. The scMultiGAN code is freely available at https://github.com/Galaxy8172/scMultiGAN.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tao Wang
- School of Computer Science, Northwestern Polytechnical University, 1 Dongxiang Rd., 710072 Xi’an, China
- Key Laboratory of Big Data Storage and Management, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, 1 Dongxiang Rd., 710072 Xi’an, China
| | - Hui Zhao
- School of Automation, Northwestern Polytechnical University, 1 Dongxiang Rd., 710072 Xi’an, China
| | - Yungang Xu
- Department of Cell Biology and Genetics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Xi’an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, No.28, West Xianning Road, 710061 Xi’an, China
| | - Yongtian Wang
- School of Computer Science, Northwestern Polytechnical University, 1 Dongxiang Rd., 710072 Xi’an, China
- Key Laboratory of Big Data Storage and Management, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, 1 Dongxiang Rd., 710072 Xi’an, China
| | - Xuequn Shang
- School of Computer Science, Northwestern Polytechnical University, 1 Dongxiang Rd., 710072 Xi’an, China
- Key Laboratory of Big Data Storage and Management, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, 1 Dongxiang Rd., 710072 Xi’an, China
| | - Jiajie Peng
- School of Computer Science, Northwestern Polytechnical University, 1 Dongxiang Rd., 710072 Xi’an, China
- Key Laboratory of Big Data Storage and Management, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, 1 Dongxiang Rd., 710072 Xi’an, China
| | - Bing Xiao
- School of Automation, Northwestern Polytechnical University, 1 Dongxiang Rd., 710072 Xi’an, China
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15
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Nano PR, Fazzari E, Azizad D, Nguyen CV, Wang S, Kan RL, Wick B, Haeussler M, Bhaduri A. A Meta-Atlas of the Developing Human Cortex Identifies Modules Driving Cell Subtype Specification. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.09.12.557406. [PMID: 37745597 PMCID: PMC10515829 DOI: 10.1101/2023.09.12.557406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/26/2023]
Abstract
Human brain development requires the generation of hundreds of diverse cell types, a process targeted by recent single-cell transcriptomic profiling efforts. Through a meta-analysis of seven of these published datasets, we have generated 225 meta-modules - gene co-expression networks that can describe mechanisms underlying cortical development. Several meta-modules have potential roles in both establishing and refining cortical cell type identities, and we validated their spatiotemporal expression in primary human cortical tissues. These include meta-module 20, associated with FEZF2+ deep layer neurons. Half of meta-module 20 genes are putative FEZF2 targets, including TSHZ3, a transcription factor associated with neurodevelopmental disorders. Human cortical organoid experiments validated that both factors are necessary for deep layer neuron specification. Importantly, subtle manipulations of these factors drive slight changes in meta-module activity that cascade into strong differences in cell fate - demonstrating how of our meta-atlas can engender further mechanistic analyses of cortical fate specification.
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16
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Zhu X, Xu Z, Wang G, Cong Y, Yu L, Jia R, Qin Y, Zhang G, Li B, Yuan D, Tu L, Yang X, Lindsey K, Zhang X, Jin S. Single-cell resolution analysis reveals the preparation for reprogramming the fate of stem cell niche in cotton lateral meristem. Genome Biol 2023; 24:194. [PMID: 37626404 PMCID: PMC10463415 DOI: 10.1186/s13059-023-03032-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2023] [Accepted: 08/06/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Somatic embryogenesis is a major process for plant regeneration. However, cell communication and the gene regulatory network responsible for cell reprogramming during somatic embryogenesis are still largely unclear. Recent advances in single-cell technologies enable us to explore the mechanism of plant regeneration at single-cell resolution. RESULTS We generate a high-resolution single-cell transcriptomic landscape of hypocotyl tissue from the highly regenerable cotton genotype Jin668 and the recalcitrant TM-1. We identify nine putative cell clusters and 23 cluster-specific marker genes for both cultivars. We find that the primary vascular cell is the major cell type that undergoes cell fate transition in response to external stimulation. Further developmental trajectory and gene regulatory network analysis of these cell clusters reveals that a total of 41 hormone response-related genes, including LAX2, LAX1, and LOX3, exhibit different expression patterns in the primary xylem and cambium region of Jin668 and TM-1. We also identify novel genes, including CSEF, PIS1, AFB2, ATHB2, PLC2, and PLT3, that are involved in regeneration. We demonstrate that LAX2, LAX1 and LOX3 play important roles in callus proliferation and plant regeneration by CRISPR/Cas9 editing and overexpression assay. CONCLUSIONS This study provides novel insights on the role of the regulatory network in cell fate transition and reprogramming during plant regeneration driven by somatic embryogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiangqian Zhu
- Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China
| | - Zhongping Xu
- Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China
| | - Guanying Wang
- Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China
| | - Yulong Cong
- Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China
| | - Lu Yu
- Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China
| | - Ruoyu Jia
- Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China
| | - Yuan Qin
- Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China
| | - Guangyu Zhang
- Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China
| | - Bo Li
- Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Crop Biotechnology, Institute of Nuclear and Biological Technology, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wulumuqi, 830000, Xinjiang, China
| | - Daojun Yuan
- Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China
| | - Lili Tu
- Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China
| | - Xiyan Yang
- Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China
| | - Keith Lindsey
- Department of Biosciences, Durham University, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
| | - Xianlong Zhang
- Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China.
| | - Shuangxia Jin
- Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China.
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17
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Hing B, Mitchell SB, Eberle M, Filali Y, Hultman I, Matkovich M, Kasturirangan M, Wyche W, Jimenez A, Velamuri R, Johnson M, Srivastava S, Hultman R. Single Cell Transcriptome of Stress Vulnerability Network in mouse Prefrontal Cortex. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.05.14.540705. [PMID: 37662266 PMCID: PMC10473598 DOI: 10.1101/2023.05.14.540705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/05/2023]
Abstract
Increased vulnerability to stress is a major risk factor for the manifestation of several mood disorders, including major depressive disorder (MDD). Despite the status of MDD as a significant donor to global disability, the complex integration of genetic and environmental factors that contribute to the behavioral display of such disorders has made a thorough understanding of related etiology elusive. Recent developments suggest that a brain-wide network approach is needed, taking into account the complex interplay of cell types spanning multiple brain regions. Single cell RNA-sequencing technologies can provide transcriptomic profiling at the single-cell level across heterogenous samples. Furthermore, we have previously used local field potential oscillations and machine learning to identify an electrical brain network that is indicative of a predisposed vulnerability state. Thus, this study combined single cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-Seq) with electrical brain network measures of the stress-vulnerable state, providing a unique opportunity to access the relationship between stress network activity and transcriptomic changes within individual cell types. We found especially high numbers of differentially expressed genes between animals with high and low stress vulnerability brain network activity in astrocytes and glutamatergic neurons but we estimated that vulnerability network activity depends most on GABAergic neurons. High vulnerability network activity included upregulation of microglia and mitochondrial and metabolic pathways, while lower vulnerability involved synaptic regulation. Genes that were differentially regulated with vulnerability network activity significantly overlapped with genes identified as having significant SNPs by human GWAS for depression. Taken together, these data provide the gene expression architecture of a previously uncharacterized stress vulnerability brain state, enabling new understanding and intervention of predisposition to stress susceptibility.
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18
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Sun YH, Wu YL, Liao BY. Phenotypic heterogeneity in human genetic diseases: ultrasensitivity-mediated threshold effects as a unifying molecular mechanism. J Biomed Sci 2023; 30:58. [PMID: 37525275 PMCID: PMC10388531 DOI: 10.1186/s12929-023-00959-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2023] [Accepted: 07/26/2023] [Indexed: 08/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Phenotypic heterogeneity is very common in genetic systems and in human diseases and has important consequences for disease diagnosis and treatment. In addition to the many genetic and non-genetic (e.g., epigenetic, environmental) factors reported to account for part of the heterogeneity, we stress the importance of stochastic fluctuation and regulatory network topology in contributing to phenotypic heterogeneity. We argue that a threshold effect is a unifying principle to explain the phenomenon; that ultrasensitivity is the molecular mechanism for this threshold effect; and discuss the three conditions for phenotypic heterogeneity to occur. We suggest that threshold effects occur not only at the cellular level, but also at the organ level. We stress the importance of context-dependence and its relationship to pleiotropy and edgetic mutations. Based on this model, we provide practical strategies to study human genetic diseases. By understanding the network mechanism for ultrasensitivity and identifying the critical factor, we may manipulate the weak spot to gently nudge the system from an ultrasensitive state to a stable non-disease state. Our analysis provides a new insight into the prevention and treatment of genetic diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y Henry Sun
- Institute of Molecular and Genomic Medicine, National Health Research Institute, Zhunan, Miaoli, Taiwan.
- Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan.
| | - Yueh-Lin Wu
- Institute of Molecular and Genomic Medicine, National Health Research Institute, Zhunan, Miaoli, Taiwan
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Wei-Gong Memorial Hospital, Miaoli, Taiwan
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
- TMU Research Center of Urology and Kidney, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei City, Taiwan
| | - Ben-Yang Liao
- Institute of Population Health Sciences, National Health Research Institute, Zhunan, Miaoli, Taiwan
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19
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Devall M, Eaton S, Yoshida C, Powell SM, Casey G, Li L. Assessment of Colorectal Cancer Risk Factors through the Application of Network-Based Approaches in a Racially Diverse Cohort of Colon Organoid Stem Cells. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:3550. [PMID: 37509213 PMCID: PMC10377524 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15143550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2023] [Revised: 07/03/2023] [Accepted: 07/07/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Numerous demographic factors have been associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) risk. To better define biological mechanisms underlying these associations, we performed RNA sequencing of stem-cell-enriched organoids derived from the healthy colons of seven European Americans and eight African Americans. A weighted gene co-expression network analysis was performed following RNA sequencing. Module-trait relationships were determined through the association testing of each module and five CRC risk factors (age, body mass index, sex, smoking history, and race). Only modules that displayed a significantly positive correlation for gene significance and module membership were considered for further investigation. In total, 16 modules were associated with known CRC risk factors (p < 0.05). To contextualize the role of risk modules in CRC, publicly available RNA-sequencing data from TCGA-COAD were downloaded and re-analyzed. Differentially expressed genes identified between tumors and matched normal-adjacent tissue were overlaid across each module. Loci derived from CRC genome-wide association studies were additionally overlaid across modules to identify robust putative targets of risk. Among them, MYBL2 and RXRA represented strong plausible drivers through which cigarette smoking and BMI potentially modulated CRC risk, respectively. In summary, our findings highlight the potential of the colon organoid system in identifying novel CRC risk mechanisms in an ancestrally diverse and cellularly relevant population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Devall
- Department of Family Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22903, USA (L.L.)
| | - Stephen Eaton
- Department of Family Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22903, USA (L.L.)
| | - Cynthia Yoshida
- Digestive Health Center, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22903, USA
| | - Steven M. Powell
- Digestive Health Center, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22903, USA
| | - Graham Casey
- Center for Public Health Genomics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA;
- Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA
| | - Li Li
- Department of Family Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22903, USA (L.L.)
- University of Virginia Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA
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20
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Zambrano-Serrano E, Platas-Garza MA, Posadas-Castillo C, Arellano-Delgado A, Cruz-Hernández C. Exploring the Role of Indirect Coupling in Complex Networks: The Emergence of Chaos and Entropy in Fractional Discrete Nodes. ENTROPY (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 25:866. [PMID: 37372210 DOI: 10.3390/e25060866] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2023] [Revised: 04/20/2023] [Accepted: 04/22/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the dynamics of complex systems defined in the sense of Caputo, such as fractional differences, is crucial for predicting their behavior and improving their functionality. In this paper, the emergence of chaos in complex dynamical networks with indirect coupling and discrete systems, both utilizing fractional order, is presented. The study employs indirect coupling to produce complex dynamics in the network, where the connection between the nodes occurs through intermediate fractional order nodes. The temporal series, phase planes, bifurcation diagrams, and Lyapunov exponent are considered to analyze the inherent dynamics of the network. Analyzing the spectral entropy of the chaotic series generated, the complexity of the network is quantified. As a final step, we demonstrate the feasibility of implementing the complex network. It is implemented on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), which confirms its hardware realizability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ernesto Zambrano-Serrano
- Facultad de Ingeniería Mecánica y Eléctrica, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, San Nicolás de los Garza 66455, NL, Mexico
| | - Miguel Angel Platas-Garza
- Facultad de Ingeniería Mecánica y Eléctrica, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, San Nicolás de los Garza 66455, NL, Mexico
| | - Cornelio Posadas-Castillo
- Facultad de Ingeniería Mecánica y Eléctrica, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, San Nicolás de los Garza 66455, NL, Mexico
| | - Adrian Arellano-Delgado
- National Council of Science and Technology, Ciudad de Mexico 03940, Mexico
- Engineering, Architecture and Design Faculty, Autonomous University of Baja California, Ensenada 22860, BC, Mexico
| | - César Cruz-Hernández
- Electronics and Telecommunication Department, Scientific Research and Advanced Studies Center of Ensenada, Ensenada 22860, BC, Mexico
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21
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Price PD, Parkus SM, Wright AE. Recent progress in understanding the genomic architecture of sexual conflict. Curr Opin Genet Dev 2023; 80:102047. [PMID: 37163877 DOI: 10.1016/j.gde.2023.102047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Revised: 04/02/2023] [Accepted: 04/02/2023] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Genomic conflict between the sexes over shared traits is widely assumed to be resolved through the evolution of sex-biased expression and the subsequent emergence of sexually dimorphic phenotypes. However, while there is support for a broad relationship between genome-wide patterns of expression level and sexual conflict, recent studies suggest that sex differences in the nature and strength of interactions between loci are instead key to conflict resolution. Furthermore, the advent of new technologies for measuring and perturbing expression means we now have much more power to detect genomic signatures of sexual conflict. Here, we review our current understanding of the genomic architecture of sexual conflict in the light of these new studies and highlight the potential for novel approaches to address outstanding knowledge gaps.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter D Price
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom. https://twitter.com/@PeterDPrice
| | - Sylvie M Parkus
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - Alison E Wright
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom.
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22
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Wang RS, Maron BA, Loscalzo J. Multiomics Network Medicine Approaches to Precision Medicine and Therapeutics in Cardiovascular Diseases. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 2023; 43:493-503. [PMID: 36794589 PMCID: PMC10038904 DOI: 10.1161/atvbaha.122.318731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2022] [Accepted: 01/30/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023]
Abstract
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of death worldwide and display complex phenotypic heterogeneity caused by many convergent processes, including interactions between genetic variation and environmental factors. Despite the identification of a large number of associated genes and genetic loci, the precise mechanisms by which these genes systematically influence the phenotypic heterogeneity of CVD are not well understood. In addition to DNA sequence, understanding the molecular mechanisms of CVD requires data from other omics levels, including the epigenome, the transcriptome, the proteome, as well as the metabolome. Recent advances in multiomics technologies have opened new precision medicine opportunities beyond genomics that can guide precise diagnosis and personalized treatment. At the same time, network medicine has emerged as an interdisciplinary field that integrates systems biology and network science to focus on the interactions among biological components in health and disease, providing an unbiased framework through which to integrate systematically these multiomics data. In this review, we briefly present such multiomics technologies, including bulk omics and single-cell omics technologies, and discuss how they can contribute to precision medicine. We then highlight network medicine-based integration of multiomics data for precision medicine and therapeutics in CVD. We also include a discussion of current challenges, potential limitations, and future directions in the study of CVD using multiomics network medicine approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui-Sheng Wang
- Division of Cardiovascular Medicine
- Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | | | - Joseph Loscalzo
- Division of Cardiovascular Medicine
- Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
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23
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Oubounyt M, Elkjaer ML, Laske T, Grønning AGB, Moeller MJ, Baumbach J. De-novo reconstruction and identification of transcriptional gene regulatory network modules differentiating single-cell clusters. NAR Genom Bioinform 2023; 5:lqad018. [PMID: 36879901 PMCID: PMC9985332 DOI: 10.1093/nargab/lqad018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2022] [Revised: 01/16/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 03/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) technology provides an unprecedented opportunity to understand gene functions and interactions at single-cell resolution. While computational tools for scRNA-seq data analysis to decipher differential gene expression profiles and differential pathway expression exist, we still lack methods to learn differential regulatory disease mechanisms directly from the single-cell data. Here, we provide a new methodology, named DiNiro, to unravel such mechanisms de novo and report them as small, easily interpretable transcriptional regulatory network modules. We demonstrate that DiNiro is able to uncover novel, relevant, and deep mechanistic models that not just predict but explain differential cellular gene expression programs. DiNiro is available at https://exbio.wzw.tum.de/diniro/.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mhaned Oubounyt
- Institute for Computational Systems Biology, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.,Chair of Experimental Bioinformatics, TUM School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich, Freising, Germany
| | - Maria L Elkjaer
- Department of Neurology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark.,Institute of Clinical Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.,Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Tanja Laske
- Institute for Computational Systems Biology, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Alexander G B Grønning
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Marcus J Moeller
- Heisenberg Chair of Preventive and Translational Nephrology, Department of Nephrology, Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Jan Baumbach
- Institute for Computational Systems Biology, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.,Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
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24
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Feigin C, Li S, Moreno J, Mallarino R. The GRN concept as a guide for evolutionary developmental biology. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY. PART B, MOLECULAR AND DEVELOPMENTAL EVOLUTION 2023; 340:92-104. [PMID: 35344632 PMCID: PMC9515236 DOI: 10.1002/jez.b.23132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2021] [Revised: 03/08/2022] [Accepted: 03/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Organismal phenotypes result largely from inherited developmental programs, usually executed during embryonic and juvenile life stages. These programs are not blank slates onto which natural selection can draw arbitrary forms. Rather, the mechanisms of development play an integral role in shaping phenotypic diversity and help determine the evolutionary trajectories of species. Modern evolutionary biology must, therefore, account for these mechanisms in both theory and in practice. The gene regulatory network (GRN) concept represents a potent tool for achieving this goal whose utility has grown in tandem with advances in "omic" technologies and experimental techniques. However, while the GRN concept is widely utilized, it is often less clear what practical implications it has for conducting research in evolutionary developmental biology. In this Perspective, we attempt to provide clarity by discussing how experiments and projects can be designed in light of the GRN concept. We first map familiar biological notions onto the more abstract components of GRN models. We then review how diverse functional genomic approaches can be directed toward the goal of constructing such models and discuss current methods for functionally testing evolutionary hypotheses that arise from them. Finally, we show how the major steps of GRN model construction and experimental validation suggest generalizable workflows that can serve as a scaffold for project design. Taken together, the practical implications that we draw from the GRN concept provide a set of guideposts for studies aiming at unraveling the molecular basis of phenotypic diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles Feigin
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA,School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Sha Li
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
| | - Jorge Moreno
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
| | - Ricardo Mallarino
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
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25
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Juan H, Huang H. Quantitative analysis of high‐throughput biological data. WIRES COMPUTATIONAL MOLECULAR SCIENCE 2023. [DOI: 10.1002/wcms.1658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Hsueh‐Fen Juan
- Department of Life Science, Institute of Biomedical Electronics and Bioinformatics, and Center for Systems Biology National Taiwan University Taipei Taiwan
- Taiwan AI Labs Taipei Taiwan
| | - Hsuan‐Cheng Huang
- Institute of Biomedical Informatics National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University Taipei Taiwan
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26
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Zhang J, Singh R. Investigating the Complexity of Gene Co-expression Estimation for Single-cell Data. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.01.24.525447. [PMID: 36747724 PMCID: PMC9900775 DOI: 10.1101/2023.01.24.525447] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
With the rapid advance of single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) technology, understanding biological processes at a more refined single-cell level is becoming possible. Gene co-expression estimation is an essential step in this direction. It can annotate functionalities of unknown genes or construct the basis of gene regulatory network inference. This study thoroughly tests the existing gene co-expression estimation methods on simulation datasets with known ground truth co-expression networks. We generate these novel datasets using two simulation processes that use the parameters learned from the experimental data. We demonstrate that these simulations better capture the underlying properties of the real-world single-cell datasets than previously tested simulations for the task. Our performance results on tens of simulated and eight experimental datasets show that all methods produce estimations with a high false discovery rate potentially caused by high-sparsity levels in the data. Finally, we find that commonly used pre-processing approaches, such as normalization and imputation, do not improve the co-expression estimation. Overall, our benchmark setup contributes to the co-expression estimator development, and our study provides valuable insights for the community of single-cell data analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaqi Zhang
- Department of Computer Science, Brown University
| | - Ritambhara Singh
- Department of Computer Science, Center for Computational Molecular Biology, Brown University
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27
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Jiang Z, Shi H, Tang X, Qin J. Recent advances in droplet microfluidics for single-cell analysis. Trends Analyt Chem 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.trac.2023.116932] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
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28
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Wang N, Hu L, Walsh AJ. POSEA: A novel algorithm to evaluate the performance of multi-object instance image segmentation. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0283692. [PMID: 36989326 PMCID: PMC10057750 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0283692] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2022] [Accepted: 03/14/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Many techniques and software packages have been developed to segment individual cells within microscopy images, necessitating a robust method to evaluate images segmented into a large number of unique objects. Currently, segmented images are often compared with ground-truth images at a pixel level; however, this standard pixel-level approach fails to compute errors due to pixels incorrectly assigned to adjacent objects. Here, we define a per-object segmentation evaluation algorithm (POSEA) that calculates segmentation accuracy metrics for each segmented object relative to a ground truth segmented image. To demonstrate the performance of POSEA, precision, recall, and f-measure metrics are computed and compared with the standard pixel-level evaluation for simulated images and segmented fluorescence microscopy images of three different cell samples. POSEA yields lower accuracy metrics than the standard pixel-level evaluation due to correct accounting of misclassified pixels of adjacent objects. Therefore, POSEA provides accurate evaluation metrics for objects with pixels incorrectly assigned to adjacent objects and is robust for use across a variety of applications that require evaluation of the segmentation of unique adjacent objects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nianchao Wang
- Texas A&M University, TAMU, College Station, Texas, United States of America
| | - Linghao Hu
- Texas A&M University, TAMU, College Station, Texas, United States of America
| | - Alex J Walsh
- Texas A&M University, TAMU, College Station, Texas, United States of America
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29
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Cha J, Lavi M, Kim J, Shomron N, Lee I. Imputation of single-cell transcriptome data enables the reconstruction of networks predictive of breast cancer metastasis. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2023; 21:2296-2304. [PMID: 37035549 PMCID: PMC10073994 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2023.03.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Revised: 03/21/2023] [Accepted: 03/21/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Single-cell transcriptome data provide a unique opportunity to explore the gene networks of a particular cell type. However, insufficient capture rate and high dimensionality of single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data challenge cell-type-specific gene network (CGN) reconstruction. Here, we demonstrated that the imputation of scRNA-seq data enables reconstruction of CGNs by effective retrieval of gene functional associations. We reconstructed CGNs for seven primary and nine metastatic breast cancer cell lines using scRNA-seq data with imputation. Key genes for primary or metastatic cell lines were prioritized based on network centrality measures and CGN hub genes that were presumed to be the major determinant of cell type characteristics. To identify novel genes in breast cancer metastasis, we used the average rank difference of centrality between the primary and metastatic cell lines. Genes predicted using CGN centrality analysis were more enriched for known breast cancer metastatic genes than those predicted using differential expression. The molecular chaperone CCT2 was identified as a novel gene for breast metastasis during knockdown assays of several candidate genes. Overall, our study demonstrated an effective CGN reconstruction technique with imputation of scRNA-seq data and the feasibility of identifying key genes for particular cell subsets using single-cell network analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junha Cha
- Department of Biotechnology, College of Life Science and Biotechnology, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
| | - Michael Lavi
- Faculty of Medicine and Edmond J Safra Center for Bioinformatics, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
| | - Junhan Kim
- Department of Biotechnology, College of Life Science and Biotechnology, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
| | - Noam Shomron
- Faculty of Medicine and Edmond J Safra Center for Bioinformatics, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
- Corresponding author.
| | - Insuk Lee
- Department of Biotechnology, College of Life Science and Biotechnology, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
- POSTECH Biotech Center, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang 37673, Republic of Korea
- Corresponding author at: Department of Biotechnology, College of Life Science and Biotechnology, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea.
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30
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Cha J, Yu J, Cho JW, Hemberg M, Lee I. scHumanNet: a single-cell network analysis platform for the study of cell-type specificity of disease genes. Nucleic Acids Res 2022; 51:e8. [PMID: 36350625 PMCID: PMC9881140 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac1042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2022] [Revised: 09/19/2022] [Accepted: 10/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
A major challenge in single-cell biology is identifying cell-type-specific gene functions, which may substantially improve precision medicine. Differential expression analysis of genes is a popular, yet insufficient approach, and complementary methods that associate function with cell type are required. Here, we describe scHumanNet (https://github.com/netbiolab/scHumanNet), a single-cell network analysis platform for resolving cellular heterogeneity across gene functions in humans. Based on cell-type-specific gene networks (CGNs) constructed under the guidance of the HumanNet reference interactome, scHumanNet displayed higher functional relevance to the cellular context than CGNs built by other methods on single-cell transcriptome data. Cellular deconvolution of gene signatures based on network compactness across cell types revealed breast cancer prognostic markers associated with T cells. scHumanNet could also prioritize genes associated with particular cell types using CGN centrality and identified the differential hubness of CGNs between disease and healthy conditions. We demonstrated the usefulness of scHumanNet by uncovering T-cell-specific functional effects of GITR, a prognostic gene for breast cancer, and functional defects in autism spectrum disorder genes specific for inhibitory neurons. These results suggest that scHumanNet will advance our understanding of cell-type specificity across human disease genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junha Cha
- Department of Biotechnology, College of Life Science and Biotechnology, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
| | - Jiwon Yu
- Department of Biotechnology, College of Life Science and Biotechnology, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
| | - Jae-Won Cho
- Evergrande Center for Immunologic Disease, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Martin Hemberg
- Correspondence may also be addressed to Martin Hemberg. Tel: +1 857 307 1422;
| | - Insuk Lee
- To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +82 2 2123 5559; Fax: +82 2 362 7265;
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31
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Yang M, Harrison BR, Promislow DEL. In search of a Drosophila core cellular network with single-cell transcriptome data. G3 GENES|GENOMES|GENETICS 2022; 12:6670625. [PMID: 35976114 PMCID: PMC9526075 DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkac212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2022] [Accepted: 08/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Along with specialized functions, cells of multicellular organisms also perform essential functions common to most if not all cells. Whether diverse cells do this by using the same set of genes, interacting in a fixed coordinated fashion to execute essential functions, or a subset of genes specific to certain cells, remains a central question in biology. Here, we focus on gene coexpression to search for a core cellular network across a whole organism. Single-cell RNA-sequencing measures gene expression of individual cells, enabling researchers to discover gene expression patterns that contribute to the diversity of cell functions. Current efforts to study cellular functions focus primarily on identifying differentially expressed genes across cells. However, patterns of coexpression between genes are probably more indicative of biological processes than are the expression of individual genes. We constructed cell-type-specific gene coexpression networks using single-cell transcriptome datasets covering diverse cell types from the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. We detected a set of highly coordinated genes preserved across cell types and present this as the best estimate of a core cellular network. This core is very small compared with cell-type-specific gene coexpression networks and shows dense connectivity. Gene members of this core tend to be ancient genes and are enriched for those encoding ribosomal proteins. Overall, we find evidence for a core cellular network in diverse cell types of the fruit fly. The topological, structural, functional, and evolutionary properties of this core indicate that it accounts for only a minority of essential functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming Yang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington School of Medicine , Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Benjamin R Harrison
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington School of Medicine , Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Daniel E L Promislow
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington School of Medicine , Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Department of Biology, University of Washington , Seattle, WA 98195, USA
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32
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Robin V, Bodein A, Scott-Boyer MP, Leclercq M, Périn O, Droit A. Overview of methods for characterization and visualization of a protein–protein interaction network in a multi-omics integration context. Front Mol Biosci 2022; 9:962799. [PMID: 36158572 PMCID: PMC9494275 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2022.962799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2022] [Accepted: 08/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
At the heart of the cellular machinery through the regulation of cellular functions, protein–protein interactions (PPIs) have a significant role. PPIs can be analyzed with network approaches. Construction of a PPI network requires prediction of the interactions. All PPIs form a network. Different biases such as lack of data, recurrence of information, and false interactions make the network unstable. Integrated strategies allow solving these different challenges. These approaches have shown encouraging results for the understanding of molecular mechanisms, drug action mechanisms, and identification of target genes. In order to give more importance to an interaction, it is evaluated by different confidence scores. These scores allow the filtration of the network and thus facilitate the representation of the network, essential steps to the identification and understanding of molecular mechanisms. In this review, we will discuss the main computational methods for predicting PPI, including ones confirming an interaction as well as the integration of PPIs into a network, and we will discuss visualization of these complex data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vivian Robin
- Molecular Medicine Department, CHU de Québec Research Center, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Antoine Bodein
- Molecular Medicine Department, CHU de Québec Research Center, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Marie-Pier Scott-Boyer
- Molecular Medicine Department, CHU de Québec Research Center, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Mickaël Leclercq
- Molecular Medicine Department, CHU de Québec Research Center, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Olivier Périn
- Digital Sciences Department, L'Oréal Advanced Research, Aulnay-sous-bois, France
| | - Arnaud Droit
- Molecular Medicine Department, CHU de Québec Research Center, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
- *Correspondence: Arnaud Droit,
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33
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Single-cell RNA and protein profiling of immune cells from the mouse brain and its border tissues. Nat Protoc 2022; 17:2354-2388. [PMID: 35931780 DOI: 10.1038/s41596-022-00716-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2021] [Accepted: 04/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Brain-immune cross-talk and neuroinflammation critically shape brain physiology in health and disease. A detailed understanding of the brain immune landscape is essential for developing new treatments for neurological disorders. Single-cell technologies offer an unbiased assessment of the heterogeneity, dynamics and functions of immune cells. Here we provide a protocol that outlines all the steps involved in performing single-cell multi-omic analysis of the brain immune compartment. This includes a step-by-step description on how to microdissect the border regions of the mouse brain, together with dissociation protocols tailored to each of these tissues. These combine a high yield with minimal dissociation-induced gene expression changes. Next, we outline the steps involved for high-dimensional flow cytometry and droplet-based single-cell RNA sequencing via the 10x Genomics platform, which can be combined with cellular indexing of transcriptomes and epitopes by sequencing (CITE-seq) and offers a higher throughput than plate-based methods. Importantly, we detail how to implement CITE-seq with large antibody panels to obtain unbiased protein-expression screening coupled to transcriptome analysis. Finally, we describe the main steps involved in the analysis and interpretation of the data. This optimized workflow allows for a detailed assessment of immune cell heterogeneity and activation in the whole brain or specific border regions, at RNA and protein level. The wet lab workflow can be completed by properly trained researchers (with basic proficiency in cell and molecular biology) and takes between 6 and 11 h, depending on the chosen procedures. The computational analysis requires a background in bioinformatics and programming in R.
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34
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Gupta C, Xu J, Jin T, Khullar S, Liu X, Alatkar S, Cheng F, Wang D. Single-cell network biology characterizes cell type gene regulation for drug repurposing and phenotype prediction in Alzheimer’s disease. PLoS Comput Biol 2022; 18:e1010287. [PMID: 35849618 PMCID: PMC9333448 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2022] [Revised: 07/28/2022] [Accepted: 06/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Dysregulation of gene expression in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) remains elusive, especially at the cell type level. Gene regulatory network, a key molecular mechanism linking transcription factors (TFs) and regulatory elements to govern gene expression, can change across cell types in the human brain and thus serve as a model for studying gene dysregulation in AD. However, AD-induced regulatory changes across brain cell types remains uncharted. To address this, we integrated single-cell multi-omics datasets to predict the gene regulatory networks of four major cell types, excitatory and inhibitory neurons, microglia and oligodendrocytes, in control and AD brains. Importantly, we analyzed and compared the structural and topological features of networks across cell types and examined changes in AD. Our analysis shows that hub TFs are largely common across cell types and AD-related changes are relatively more prominent in some cell types (e.g., microglia). The regulatory logics of enriched network motifs (e.g., feed-forward loops) further uncover cell type-specific TF-TF cooperativities in gene regulation. The cell type networks are also highly modular and several network modules with cell-type-specific expression changes in AD pathology are enriched with AD-risk genes. The further disease-module-drug association analysis suggests cell-type candidate drugs and their potential target genes. Finally, our network-based machine learning analysis systematically prioritized cell type risk genes likely involved in AD. Our strategy is validated using an independent dataset which showed that top ranked genes can predict clinical phenotypes (e.g., cognitive impairment) of AD with reasonable accuracy. Overall, this single-cell network biology analysis provides a comprehensive map linking genes, regulatory networks, cell types and drug targets and reveals cell-type gene dysregulation in AD. Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia. It affects parts of the brain that control language, behavior, and memory. The human brain is comprised of tens of billions of cells, such as neuronal cells that transmit information via electrical and chemical signals, and glial cells that maintain the brain’s immune system. Researchers have found that AD causes changes in the expression of genes within the brain cells. Gene expression is a tightly regulated process involving interconnected networks of multiple genes. Understanding how these gene networks change in AD is critical to identifying genetic biomarkers and potential drug targets. Using genomic data of post-mortem brains diagnosed with AD and healthy individuals, we identified gene networks that play a crucial role in regulating biological processes within neuronal and glial cells. We utilized these gene networks to make predictions on existing FDA approved drugs that could potentially be repurposed for AD. Furthermore, we used a machine learning strategy to identify novel genes that are more likely to be involved in AD pathology. The systems-level approach lends itself to analysis of single-cell genomics data of other human diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chirag Gupta
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Jielin Xu
- Genomic Medicine Institute, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Ting Jin
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Saniya Khullar
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Xiaoyu Liu
- Department of Statistics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Sayali Alatkar
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Computer Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Feixiong Cheng
- Genomic Medicine Institute, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
- Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Daifeng Wang
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Computer Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Ali MW, Chen J, Yan L, Wang X, Dai JY, Vaughan TL, Casey G, Buas MF. A risk variant for Barrett's esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma at chr8p23.1 affects enhancer activity and implicates multiple gene targets. Hum Mol Genet 2022; 31:3975-3986. [PMID: 35766871 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddac141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2022] [Revised: 06/09/2022] [Accepted: 06/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Nineteen genetic susceptibility loci for esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) and its precursor Barrett's esophagus (BE) have been identified through genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Clinical translation of such discoveries, however, has been hindered by the slow pace of discovery of functional/causal variants and gene targets at these loci. We previously developed a systematic informatics pipeline to prioritize candidate functional variants using functional potential scores, applied the pipeline to select high-scoring BE/EAC risk loci, and validated a functional variant at chr19p13.11 (rs10423674). Here, we selected two additional prioritized loci for experimental interrogation: chr3p13/rs1522552 and chr8p23.1/rs55896564. Candidate enhancer regions encompassing these variants were evaluated using luciferase reporter assays in two EAC cell lines. One of the two regions tested exhibited allele-specific enhancer activity - 8p23.1/rs55896564. CRISPR-mediated deletion of the putative enhancer in EAC cell lines correlated with reduced expression of three candidate gene targets: B lymphocyte kinase (BLK), nei like DNA glycosylase 2 (NEIL2), and cathepsin B (CTSB). Expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) mapping in normal esophagus and stomach revealed strong associations between the BE/EAC risk allele at rs55896564 (G) and lower expression of CTSB, a protease gene implicated in epithelial wound repair. These results further support the utility of functional potential scores for GWAS variant prioritization, and provide the first experimental evidence of a functional variant and risk enhancer at the 8p23.1 GWAS locus. Identification of CTSB, BLK, and NEIL2 as candidate gene targets suggests that altered expression of these genes may underlie the genetic risk association at 8p23.1 with BE/EAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mourad Wagdy Ali
- Center for Public Health Genomics, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Jianhong Chen
- Department of Cancer Prevention and Control, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY, USA
| | - Li Yan
- Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY, USA
| | - Xiaoyu Wang
- Division of Public Health Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - James Y Dai
- Division of Public Health Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Thomas L Vaughan
- Division of Public Health Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA.,Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, School of Public Health, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Graham Casey
- Center for Public Health Genomics, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Matthew F Buas
- Department of Cancer Prevention and Control, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY, USA
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From single-omics to interactomics: How can ligand-induced perturbations modulate single-cell phenotypes? ADVANCES IN PROTEIN CHEMISTRY AND STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY 2022; 131:45-83. [PMID: 35871896 DOI: 10.1016/bs.apcsb.2022.05.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Cells suffer from perturbations by different stimuli, which, consequently, rise to individual alterations in their profile and function that may end up affecting the tissue as a whole. This is no different if we consider the effect of a therapeutic agent on a biological system. As cells are exposed to external ligands their profile can change at different single-omics levels. Detecting how these changes take place through different sequencing technologies is key to a better understanding of the effects of therapeutic agents. Single-cell RNA-sequencing stands out as one of the most common approaches for cell profiling and perturbation analysis. As a result, single-cell transcriptomics data can be integrated with other omics data sources, such as proteomics and epigenomics data, to clarify the perturbation effects and mechanism at the cell level. Appropriate computational tools are key to process and integrate the available information. This chapter focuses on the recent advances on ligand-induced perturbation and single-cell omics computational tools and algorithms, their current limitations, and how the deluge of data can be used to improve the current process of drug research and development.
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Kontio J, Soñora VR, Pesola V, Lamba R, Dittmann A, Navarro AD, Koivunen J, Pihlajaniemi T, Izzi V. Analysis of extracellular matrix network dynamics in cancer using the MatriNet database. Matrix Biol 2022; 110:141-150. [DOI: 10.1016/j.matbio.2022.05.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2022] [Revised: 04/23/2022] [Accepted: 05/10/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Nussinov R, Tsai CJ, Jang H. Allostery, and how to define and measure signal transduction. Biophys Chem 2022; 283:106766. [PMID: 35121384 PMCID: PMC8898294 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpc.2022.106766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2021] [Revised: 01/21/2022] [Accepted: 01/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Here we ask: What is productive signaling? How to define it, how to measure it, and most of all, what are the parameters that determine it? Further, what determines the strength of signaling from an upstream to a downstream node in a specific cell? These questions have either not been considered or not entirely resolved. The requirements for the signal to propagate downstream to activate (repress) transcription have not been considered either. Yet, the questions are pivotal to clarify, especially in diseases such as cancer where determination of signal propagation can point to cell proliferation and to emerging drug resistance, and to neurodevelopmental disorders, such as RASopathy, autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and cerebral palsy. Here we propose a framework for signal transduction from an upstream to a downstream node addressing these questions. Defining cellular processes, experimentally measuring them, and devising powerful computational AI-powered algorithms that exploit the measurements, are essential for quantitative science.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruth Nussinov
- Computational Structural Biology Section, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research in the Laboratory of Cancer Immunometabolism, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, USA; Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel.
| | - Chung-Jung Tsai
- Computational Structural Biology Section, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research in the Laboratory of Cancer Immunometabolism, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Hyunbum Jang
- Computational Structural Biology Section, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research in the Laboratory of Cancer Immunometabolism, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
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Qian K, Fu S, Li H, Li WV. scINSIGHT for interpreting single-cell gene expression from biologically heterogeneous data. Genome Biol 2022; 23:82. [PMID: 35313930 PMCID: PMC8935111 DOI: 10.1186/s13059-022-02649-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2021] [Accepted: 03/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The increasing number of scRNA-seq data emphasizes the need for integrative analysis to interpret similarities and differences between single-cell samples. Although different batch effect removal methods have been developed, none are suitable for heterogeneous single-cell samples coming from multiple biological conditions. We propose a method, scINSIGHT, to learn coordinated gene expression patterns that are common among, or specific to, different biological conditions, and identify cellular identities and processes across single-cell samples. We compare scINSIGHT with state-of-the-art methods using simulated and real data, which demonstrate its improved performance. Our results show the applicability of scINSIGHT in diverse biomedical and clinical problems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kun Qian
- School of Mathematics and Physics, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, Hubei, China
| | - Shiwei Fu
- Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Rutgers School of Public Health, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, 08854, NJ, USA
| | - Hongwei Li
- School of Mathematics and Physics, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, Hubei, China
| | - Wei Vivian Li
- Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Rutgers School of Public Health, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, 08854, NJ, USA.
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Wang M, Song WM, Ming C, Wang Q, Zhou X, Xu P, Krek A, Yoon Y, Ho L, Orr ME, Yuan GC, Zhang B. Guidelines for bioinformatics of single-cell sequencing data analysis in Alzheimer's disease: review, recommendation, implementation and application. Mol Neurodegener 2022; 17:17. [PMID: 35236372 PMCID: PMC8889402 DOI: 10.1186/s13024-022-00517-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2021] [Accepted: 01/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia, characterized by progressive cognitive impairment and neurodegeneration. Extensive clinical and genomic studies have revealed biomarkers, risk factors, pathways, and targets of AD in the past decade. However, the exact molecular basis of AD development and progression remains elusive. The emerging single-cell sequencing technology can potentially provide cell-level insights into the disease. Here we systematically review the state-of-the-art bioinformatics approaches to analyze single-cell sequencing data and their applications to AD in 14 major directions, including 1) quality control and normalization, 2) dimension reduction and feature extraction, 3) cell clustering analysis, 4) cell type inference and annotation, 5) differential expression, 6) trajectory inference, 7) copy number variation analysis, 8) integration of single-cell multi-omics, 9) epigenomic analysis, 10) gene network inference, 11) prioritization of cell subpopulations, 12) integrative analysis of human and mouse sc-RNA-seq data, 13) spatial transcriptomics, and 14) comparison of single cell AD mouse model studies and single cell human AD studies. We also address challenges in using human postmortem and mouse tissues and outline future developments in single cell sequencing data analysis. Importantly, we have implemented our recommended workflow for each major analytic direction and applied them to a large single nucleus RNA-sequencing (snRNA-seq) dataset in AD. Key analytic results are reported while the scripts and the data are shared with the research community through GitHub. In summary, this comprehensive review provides insights into various approaches to analyze single cell sequencing data and offers specific guidelines for study design and a variety of analytic directions. The review and the accompanied software tools will serve as a valuable resource for studying cellular and molecular mechanisms of AD, other diseases, or biological systems at the single cell level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minghui Wang
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, Room S8-111, New York, NY 10029 USA
- Mount Sinai Center for Transformative Disease Modeling, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, Room S8-111, New York, NY 10029 USA
| | - Won-min Song
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, Room S8-111, New York, NY 10029 USA
- Mount Sinai Center for Transformative Disease Modeling, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, Room S8-111, New York, NY 10029 USA
| | - Chen Ming
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, Room S8-111, New York, NY 10029 USA
- Mount Sinai Center for Transformative Disease Modeling, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, Room S8-111, New York, NY 10029 USA
| | - Qian Wang
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, Room S8-111, New York, NY 10029 USA
- Mount Sinai Center for Transformative Disease Modeling, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, Room S8-111, New York, NY 10029 USA
| | - Xianxiao Zhou
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, Room S8-111, New York, NY 10029 USA
- Mount Sinai Center for Transformative Disease Modeling, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, Room S8-111, New York, NY 10029 USA
| | - Peng Xu
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, Room S8-111, New York, NY 10029 USA
- Mount Sinai Center for Transformative Disease Modeling, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, Room S8-111, New York, NY 10029 USA
| | - Azra Krek
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, Room S8-111, New York, NY 10029 USA
- Institute for Personalized Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY 10029 USA
| | - Yonejung Yoon
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, Room S8-111, New York, NY 10029 USA
- Mount Sinai Center for Transformative Disease Modeling, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, Room S8-111, New York, NY 10029 USA
| | - Lap Ho
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, Room S8-111, New York, NY 10029 USA
- Mount Sinai Center for Transformative Disease Modeling, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, Room S8-111, New York, NY 10029 USA
| | - Miranda E. Orr
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina USA
- Sticht Center for Healthy Aging and Alzheimer’s Prevention, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina USA
| | - Guo-Cheng Yuan
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, Room S8-111, New York, NY 10029 USA
- Institute for Personalized Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY 10029 USA
| | - Bin Zhang
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, Room S8-111, New York, NY 10029 USA
- Mount Sinai Center for Transformative Disease Modeling, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, Room S8-111, New York, NY 10029 USA
- Icahn Institute of Genomics and Multiscale Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, Room S8-111, New York, NY 10029 USA
- Department of Pharmacological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1470 Madison Avenue, Room S8-111, New York, NY 10029 USA
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Effect of imputation on gene network reconstruction from single-cell RNA-seq data. PATTERNS 2022; 3:100414. [PMID: 35199064 PMCID: PMC8848013 DOI: 10.1016/j.patter.2021.100414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2021] [Revised: 07/30/2021] [Accepted: 11/25/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Despite the advances in single-cell transcriptomics, the reconstruction of gene regulatory networks remains challenging. Both the large amount of zero counts in experimental data and the lack of a consensus preprocessing pipeline for single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data make it hard to infer networks. Imputation can be applied in order to enhance gene-gene correlations and facilitate downstream analysis. However, it is unclear what consequences imputation methods have on the reconstruction of gene regulatory networks. To study this, we evaluate the differences on the performance and structure of reconstructed networks before and after imputation in single-cell data. We observe an inflation of gene-gene correlations that affects the predicted network structures and may decrease the performance of network reconstruction in general. However, within the modest limits of achievable results, we also make a recommendation as to an advisable combination of algorithms while warning against the indiscriminate use of imputation before network reconstruction in general. Gene network reconstruction does not necessarily profit from imputation Imputation rather than network reconstruction method influences network result Inflation of enhanced gene-gene correlations can obscure inferred network structures
Data analysis for single-cell transcriptomics requires sophisticated software pipelines. By studying the interplay between two prominent tasks, imputation of missing data, and gene network reconstruction, we point out the pitfalls of freely combining components as part of an analysis pipeline. In our application, an earlier decision for a particular imputation algorithm is shown to largely determine the results achievable in the later gene network reconstruction task. This interdependence constitutes the flip side of the convenience that comes with the availability of user-friendly computational pipelines.
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A Transcriptomic Atlas of the Ectomycorrhizal Fungus Laccaria bicolor. Microorganisms 2021; 9:microorganisms9122612. [PMID: 34946213 PMCID: PMC8708209 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms9122612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2021] [Revised: 12/10/2021] [Accepted: 12/11/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Trees are able to colonize, establish and survive in a wide range of soils through associations with ectomycorrhizal (EcM) fungi. Proper functioning of EcM fungi implies the differentiation of structures within the fungal colony. A symbiotic structure is dedicated to nutrient exchange and the extramatricular mycelium explores soil for nutrients. Eventually, basidiocarps develop to assure last stages of sexual reproduction. The aim of this study is to understand how an EcM fungus uses its gene set to support functional differentiation and development of specialized morphological structures. We examined the transcriptomes of Laccaria bicolor under a series of experimental setups, including the growth with Populus tremula x alba at different developmental stages, basidiocarps and free-living mycelium, under various conditions of N, P and C supply. In particular, N supply induced global transcriptional changes, whereas responses to P supply seemed to be independent from it. Symbiosis development with poplar is characterized by transcriptional waves. Basidiocarp development shares transcriptional signatures with other basidiomycetes. Overlaps in transcriptional responses of L. bicolor hyphae to a host plant and N/C supply next to co-regulation of genes in basidiocarps and mature mycorrhiza were detected. Few genes are induced in a single condition only, but functional and morphological differentiation rather involves fine tuning of larger gene sets. Overall, this transcriptomic atlas builds a reference to study the function and stability of EcM symbiosis in distinct conditions using L. bicolor as a model and indicates both similarities and differences with other ectomycorrhizal fungi, allowing researchers to distinguish conserved processes such as basidiocarp development from nutrient homeostasis.
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Integration of functional genomics data to uncover cell type-specific pathways affected in Parkinson's disease. Biochem Soc Trans 2021; 49:2091-2100. [PMID: 34581766 PMCID: PMC8589426 DOI: 10.1042/bst20210128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2021] [Revised: 08/25/2021] [Accepted: 08/31/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most prevalent late-onset neurodegenerative disorder worldwide after Alzheimer's disease for which available drugs only deliver temporary symptomatic relief. Loss of dopaminergic neurons (DaNs) in the substantia nigra and intracellular alpha-synuclein inclusions are the main hallmarks of the disease but the events that cause this degeneration remain uncertain. Despite cell types other than DaNs such as astrocytes, microglia and oligodendrocytes have been recently associated with the pathogenesis of PD, we still lack an in-depth characterisation of PD-affected brain regions at cell-type resolution that could help our understanding of the disease mechanisms. Nevertheless, publicly available large-scale brain-specific genomic, transcriptomic and epigenomic datasets can be further exploited to extract different layers of cell type-specific biological information for the reconstruction of cell type-specific transcriptional regulatory networks. By intersecting disease risk variants within the networks, it may be possible to study the functional role of these risk variants and their combined effects at cell type- and pathway levels, that, in turn, can facilitate the identification of key regulators involved in disease progression, which are often potential therapeutic targets.
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Long non-coding RNAs associated with infection and vaccine-induced immunity. Essays Biochem 2021; 65:657-669. [PMID: 34528687 DOI: 10.1042/ebc20200072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2020] [Revised: 08/01/2021] [Accepted: 08/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The immune system responds to infection or vaccination through a dynamic and complex process that involves several molecular and cellular factors. Among these factors, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged as significant players in all areas of biology, particularly in immunology. Most of the mammalian genome is transcribed in a highly regulated manner, generating a diversity of lncRNAs that impact the differentiation and activation of immune cells and affect innate and adaptive immunity. Here, we have reviewed the range of functions and mechanisms of lncRNAs in response to infectious disease, including pathogen recognition, interferon (IFN) response, and inflammation. We describe examples of lncRNAs exploited by pathogenic agents during infection, which indicate that lncRNAs are a fundamental part of the arms race between hosts and pathogens. We also discuss lncRNAs potentially implicated in vaccine-induced immunity and present examples of lncRNAs associated with the antibody response of subjects receiving Influenza or Yellow Fever vaccines. Elucidating the widespread involvement of lncRNAs in the immune system will improve our understanding of the factors affecting immune response to different pathogenic agents, to better prevent and treat disease.
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Integration and gene co-expression network analysis of scRNA-seq transcriptomes reveal heterogeneity and key functional genes in human spermatogenesis. Sci Rep 2021; 11:19089. [PMID: 34580317 PMCID: PMC8476490 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-98267-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2021] [Accepted: 08/27/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Spermatogenesis is a complex process of cellular division and differentiation that begins with spermatogonia stem cells and leads to functional spermatozoa production. However, many of the molecular mechanisms underlying this process remain unclear. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) is used to sequence the entire transcriptome at the single-cell level to assess cell-to-cell variability. In this study, more than 33,000 testicular cells from different scRNA-seq datasets with normal spermatogenesis were integrated to identify single-cell heterogeneity on a more comprehensive scale. Clustering, cell type assignments, differential expressed genes and pseudotime analysis characterized 5 spermatogonia, 4 spermatocyte, and 4 spermatid cell types during the spermatogenesis process. The UTF1 and ID4 genes were introduced as the most specific markers that can differentiate two undifferentiated spermatogonia stem cell sub-cellules. The C7orf61 and TNP can differentiate two round spermatid sub-cellules. The topological analysis of the weighted gene co-expression network along with the integrated scRNA-seq data revealed some bridge genes between spermatogenesis's main stages such as DNAJC5B, C1orf194, HSP90AB1, BST2, EEF1A1, CRISP2, PTMS, NFKBIA, CDKN3, and HLA-DRA. The importance of these key genes is confirmed by their role in male infertility in previous studies. It can be stated that, this integrated scRNA-seq of spermatogenic cells offers novel insights into cell-to-cell heterogeneity and suggests a list of key players with a pivotal role in male infertility from the fertile spermatogenesis datasets. These key functional genes can be introduced as candidates for filtering and prioritizing genotype-to-phenotype association in male infertility.
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Chen J, Ali MW, Yan L, Dighe SG, Dai JY, Vaughan TL, Casey G, Buas MF. Prioritization and functional analysis of GWAS risk loci for Barrett's esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma. Hum Mol Genet 2021; 31:410-422. [PMID: 34505128 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddab259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2021] [Revised: 08/17/2021] [Accepted: 08/30/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified ~ 20 genetic susceptibility loci for esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), and its precursor, Barrett's esophagus (BE). Despite such advances, functional/causal variants and gene targets at these loci remain undefined, hindering clinical translation. A key challenge is that most causal variants map to non-coding regulatory regions such as enhancers, and typically, numerous potential candidate variants at GWAS loci require testing. We developed a systematic informatics pipeline for prioritizing candidate functional variants via integrative functional potential scores consolidated from multi-omics annotations, and used this pipeline to identify two high-scoring variants for experimental interrogation: chr9q22.32/rs11789015 and chr19p13.11/rs10423674. Minimal candidate enhancer regions spanning these variants were evaluated using luciferase reporter assays in two EAC cell lines. One of the two variants tested (rs10423674) exhibited allele-specific enhancer activity. CRISPR-mediated deletion of the putative enhancer region in EAC cell lines correlated with reduced expression of two genes-CREB-regulated transcription coactivator 1 (CRTC1) and Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP); expression of five other genes remained unchanged (CRLF1, KLHL26, TMEM59L, UBA52, RFXANK). Expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) mapping indicated that rs10423674 genotype correlated with CRTC1 and COMP expression in normal esophagus. This study represents the first experimental effort to bridge GWAS associations to biology in BE/EAC, and supports the utility of functional potential scores to guide variant prioritization. Our findings reveal a functional variant and candidate risk enhancer at chr19p13.11, and implicate CRTC1 and COMP as putative gene targets, suggesting that altered expression of these genes may underlie the BE/EAC risk association.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianhong Chen
- Department of Cancer Prevention and Control, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY, 14263 USA
| | - Mourad Wagdy Ali
- Center for Public Health Genomics, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22903 USA
| | - Li Yan
- Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY, 14263 USA
| | - Shruti G Dighe
- Department of Cancer Prevention and Control, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY, 14263 USA
| | - James Y Dai
- Division of Public Health Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, 98109 USA
| | - Thomas L Vaughan
- Division of Public Health Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, 98109 USA.,Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, School of Public Health, Seattle, Washington, 98195 USA
| | - Graham Casey
- Center for Public Health Genomics, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22903 USA
| | - Matthew F Buas
- Department of Cancer Prevention and Control, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY, 14263 USA
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Galfrè SG, Morandin F, Pietrosanto M, Cremisi F, Helmer-Citterich M. COTAN: scRNA-seq data analysis based on gene co-expression. NAR Genom Bioinform 2021; 3:lqab072. [PMID: 34396096 PMCID: PMC8356963 DOI: 10.1093/nargab/lqab072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2020] [Revised: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 08/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Estimating the co-expression of cell identity factors in single-cell is crucial. Due to the low efficiency of scRNA-seq methodologies, sensitive computational approaches are critical to accurately infer transcription profiles in a cell population. We introduce COTAN, a statistical and computational method, to analyze the co-expression of gene pairs at single cell level, providing the foundation for single-cell gene interactome analysis. The basic idea is studying the zero UMI counts’ distribution instead of focusing on positive counts; this is done with a generalized contingency tables framework. COTAN can assess the correlated or anti-correlated expression of gene pairs, providing a new correlation index with an approximate p-value for the associated test of independence. COTAN can evaluate whether single genes are differentially expressed, scoring them with a newly defined global differentiation index. Similarly to correlation network analysis, it provides ways to plot and cluster genes according to their co-expression pattern with other genes, effectively helping the study of gene interactions, becoming a new tool to identify cell-identity markers. We assayed COTAN on two neural development datasets with very promising results. COTAN is an R package that complements the traditional single cell RNA-seq analysis and it is available at https://github.com/seriph78/COTAN.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Giulia Galfrè
- Department of Biology, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via della Ricerca Scientifica, 00133 Roma, Italy
| | - Francesco Morandin
- Department of Mathematical, Physical and Computer Sciences, University of Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze, 53/A, 43124 Parma, Italy
| | - Marco Pietrosanto
- Department of Biology, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via della Ricerca Scientifica, 00133 Roma, Italy
| | - Federico Cremisi
- Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, Piazza dei Cavalieri, 7, 56126 Pisa, Italy
| | - Manuela Helmer-Citterich
- Department of Biology, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via della Ricerca Scientifica, 00133 Roma, Italy
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Abstract
Cell atlases are essential companions to the genome as they elucidate how genes are used in a cell type-specific manner or how the usage of genes changes over the lifetime of an organism. This review explores recent advances in whole-organism single-cell atlases, which enable understanding of cell heterogeneity and tissue and cell fate, both in health and disease. Here we provide an overview of recent efforts to build cell atlases across species and discuss the challenges that the field is currently facing. Moreover, we propose the concept of having a knowledgebase that can scale with the number of experiments and computational approaches and a new feedback loop for development and benchmarking of computational methods that includes contributions from the users. These two aspects are key for community efforts in single-cell biology that will help produce a comprehensive annotated map of cell types and states with unparalleled resolution.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Bruno Tojo
- Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Aaron McGeever
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, California 94103, USA;
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Bode D, Cull AH, Rubio-Lara JA, Kent DG. Exploiting Single-Cell Tools in Gene and Cell Therapy. Front Immunol 2021; 12:702636. [PMID: 34322133 PMCID: PMC8312222 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.702636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Single-cell molecular tools have been developed at an incredible pace over the last five years as sequencing costs continue to drop and numerous molecular assays have been coupled to sequencing readouts. This rapid period of technological development has facilitated the delineation of individual molecular characteristics including the genome, transcriptome, epigenome, and proteome of individual cells, leading to an unprecedented resolution of the molecular networks governing complex biological systems. The immense power of single-cell molecular screens has been particularly highlighted through work in systems where cellular heterogeneity is a key feature, such as stem cell biology, immunology, and tumor cell biology. Single-cell-omics technologies have already contributed to the identification of novel disease biomarkers, cellular subsets, therapeutic targets and diagnostics, many of which would have been undetectable by bulk sequencing approaches. More recently, efforts to integrate single-cell multi-omics with single cell functional output and/or physical location have been challenging but have led to substantial advances. Perhaps most excitingly, there are emerging opportunities to reach beyond the description of static cellular states with recent advances in modulation of cells through CRISPR technology, in particular with the development of base editors which greatly raises the prospect of cell and gene therapies. In this review, we provide a brief overview of emerging single-cell technologies and discuss current developments in integrating single-cell molecular screens and performing single-cell multi-omics for clinical applications. We also discuss how single-cell molecular assays can be usefully combined with functional data to unpick the mechanism of cellular decision-making. Finally, we reflect upon the introduction of spatial transcriptomics and proteomics, its complementary role with single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and potential application in cellular and gene therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Bode
- Wellcome Medical Research Council (MRC) Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Department of Haematology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Alyssa H. Cull
- York Biomedical Research Institute, Department of Biology, University of York, York, United Kingdom
| | - Juan A. Rubio-Lara
- York Biomedical Research Institute, Department of Biology, University of York, York, United Kingdom
| | - David G. Kent
- York Biomedical Research Institute, Department of Biology, University of York, York, United Kingdom
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Abedini-Nassab R, Pouryosef Miandoab M, Şaşmaz M. Microfluidic Synthesis, Control, and Sensing of Magnetic Nanoparticles: A Review. MICROMACHINES 2021; 12:768. [PMID: 34210058 PMCID: PMC8306075 DOI: 10.3390/mi12070768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2021] [Revised: 06/22/2021] [Accepted: 06/27/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Magnetic nanoparticles have attracted significant attention in various disciplines, including engineering and medicine. Microfluidic chips and lab-on-a-chip devices, with precise control over small volumes of fluids and tiny particles, are appropriate tools for the synthesis, manipulation, and evaluation of nanoparticles. Moreover, the controllability and automation offered by the microfluidic chips in combination with the unique capabilities of the magnetic nanoparticles and their ability to be remotely controlled and detected, have recently provided tremendous advances in biotechnology. In particular, microfluidic chips with magnetic nanoparticles serve as sensitive, high throughput, and portable devices for contactless detecting and manipulating DNAs, RNAs, living cells, and viruses. In this work, we review recent fundamental advances in the field with a focus on biomedical applications. First, we study novel microfluidic-based methods in synthesizing magnetic nanoparticles as well as microparticles encapsulating them. We review both continues-flow and droplet-based microreactors, including the ones based on the cross-flow, co-flow, and flow-focusing methods. Then, we investigate the microfluidic-based methods for manipulating tiny magnetic particles. These manipulation techniques include the ones based on external magnets, embedded micro-coils, and magnetic thin films. Finally, we review techniques invented for the detection and magnetic measurement of magnetic nanoparticles and magnetically labeled bioparticles. We include the advances in anisotropic magnetoresistive, giant magnetoresistive, tunneling magnetoresistive, and magnetorelaxometry sensors. Overall, this review covers a wide range of the field uniquely and provides essential information for designing "lab-on-a-chip" systems for synthesizing magnetic nanoparticles, labeling bioparticles with them, and sorting and detecting them on a single chip.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roozbeh Abedini-Nassab
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Neyshabur, Neyshabur 9319774446, Iran
| | | | - Merivan Şaşmaz
- Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Adiyaman University, Adiyaman 02040, Turkey;
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