Mechanism-aware and multimodal AI: beyond model-agnostic interpretation

A mini-review on perturbation modelling across single-cell omic modalities

Recent advances in single-cell omics technology have transformed the landscape of cellular and molecular research, enriching the scope and intricacy of cellular characterisation. Perturbation modelling seeks to comprehensively grasp the effects of external influences like disease onset or molecular knock-outs or external stimulants on cellular physiology, specifically on transcription factors, signal transducers, biological pathways, and dynamic cell states. Machine and deep learning tools transform complex perturbational phenomena in algorithmically tractable tasks to formulate predictions based on various types of single-cell datasets. However, the recent surge in tools and datasets makes it challenging for experimental biologists and computational scientists to keep track of the recent advances in this rapidly expanding filed of single-cell modelling. Here, we recapitulate the main objectives of perturbation modelling and summarise novel single-cell perturbation technologies based on genetic manipulation like CRISPR or compounds, spanning across omic modalities. We then concisely review a burgeoning group of computational methods extending from classical statistical inference methodologies to various machine and deep learning architectures like shallow models or autoencoders, to biologically informed approaches based on gene regulatory networks, and to combinatorial efforts reminiscent of ensemble learning. We also discuss the rising trend of large foundational models in single-cell perturbation modelling inspired by large language models. Lastly, we critically assess the challenges that underline single-cell perturbation modelling while pointing towards relevant future perspectives like perturbation atlases, multi-omics and spatial datasets, causal machine learning for interpretability, multi-task learning for performance and explainability as well as prospects for solving interoperability and benchmarking pitfalls.

BootCellNet, a resampling-based procedure, promotes unsupervised identification of cell populations via robust inference of gene regulatory networks

Recent advances in measurement technologies, particularly single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), have revolutionized our ability to acquire large amounts of omics-level data on cellular states. As measurement techniques evolve, there has been an increasing need for data analysis methodologies, especially those focused on cell-type identification and inference of gene regulatory networks (GRNs). We have developed a new method named BootCellNet, which employs smoothing and resampling to infer GRNs. Using the inferred GRNs, BootCellNet further infers the minimum dominating set (MDS), a set of genes that determines the dynamics of the entire network. We have demonstrated that BootCellNet robustly infers GRNs and their MDSs from scRNA-seq data and facilitates unsupervised identification of cell clusters using scRNA-seq datasets of peripheral blood mononuclear cells and hematopoiesis. It has also identified COVID-19 patient-specific cells and their potential regulatory transcription factors. BootCellNet not only identifies cell types in an unsupervised and explainable way but also provides insights into the characteristics of identified cell types through the inference of GRNs and MDS.

Cross-attention enables deep learning on limited omics-imaging-clinical data of 130 lung cancer patients

Deep-learning tools that extract prognostic factors derived from multi-omics data have recently contributed to individualized predictions of survival outcomes. However, the limited size of integrated omics-imaging-clinical datasets poses challenges. Here, we propose two biologically interpretable and robust deep-learning architectures for survival prediction of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, learning simultaneously from computed tomography (CT) scan images, gene expression data, and clinical information. The proposed models integrate patient-specific clinical, transcriptomic, and imaging data and incorporate Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and Reactome pathway information, adding biological knowledge within the learning process to extract prognostic gene biomarkers and molecular pathways. While both models accurately stratify patients in high- and low-risk groups when trained on a dataset of only 130 patients, introducing a cross-attention mechanism in a sparse autoencoder significantly improves the performance, highlighting tumor regions and NSCLC-related genes as potential biomarkers and thus offering a significant methodological advancement when learning from small imaging-omics-clinical samples.

Emerging methods for genome-scale metabolic modeling of microbial communities

Genome-scale metabolic models (GEMs) are consolidating as platforms for studying mixed microbial populations, by combining biological data and knowledge with mathematical rigor. However, deploying these models to answer research questions can be challenging due to the increasing number of available computational tools, the lack of universal standards, and their inherent limitations. Here, we present a comprehensive overview of foundational concepts for building and evaluating genome-scale models of microbial communities. We then compare tools in terms of requirements, capabilities, and applications. Next, we highlight the current pitfalls and open challenges to consider when adopting existing tools and developing new ones. Our compendium can be relevant for the expanding community of modelers, both at the entry and experienced levels.