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Accurate estimation of cell composition in bulk expression through robust integration of single-cell information

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Paper Summary

Paperzilla title
Mixing Bulk and Single-Cell Data Like a Pro: Bisque Smoothly Blends Transcriptomes for Accurate Cell-Type Counts

Bisque, a new computational tool, accurately estimates cell type proportions from bulk gene expression data by leveraging single-cell information and correcting for biases between sequencing methods. Tested on both adipose and brain tissue samples, Bisque outperformed existing tools and replicated known links between cell proportions and clinical traits like BMI and insulin resistance.

Explain Like I'm Five

Scientists made a smart computer program that can figure out how many different kinds of cells are in a mixed sample, like knowing how many red or blue LEGOs are in a big pile. This helps them learn important things about our bodies and health.

Possible Conflicts of Interest

None identified

Identified Limitations

Limited evaluation of bias correction
The study acknowledges potential biases in single-cell sequencing and proposes transformations to mitigate these. However, the extent to which these transformations fully address the biases and their potential impact on downstream analyses are not comprehensively evaluated.
Limited generalizability
The study is limited to adipose tissue and cortex samples. While these tissues may provide insights into the performance of the method, the generalizability of Bisque to other tissue types or data generated with different single-cell technologies is not explored.
Dependence on marker gene selection
The marker-based decomposition method relies on prior knowledge of marker genes. The availability and selection of these markers may influence the results, especially in cases where marker genes are not well-established for specific cell types.

Rating Explanation

The paper presents a novel method, Bisque, for estimating cell type proportions in bulk expression data by integrating single-cell information. The method addresses a significant challenge in transcriptomics by accounting for technical biases between different sequencing technologies. The evaluation on adipose tissue and cortex datasets shows improved performance compared to existing methods and replicates previously reported associations between cell type proportions and phenotypes. The efficiency of the method and the alternative marker-based approach are also valuable contributions. While certain limitations exist regarding the generalizability and assumptions about cell population representation, the overall methodology and findings are strong, warranting a rating of 4.

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Topic Hierarchy

Domain: Health Sciences
Field: Medicine
Subfield: Physiology

File Information

Original Title: Accurate estimation of cell composition in bulk expression through robust integration of single-cell information
Uploaded: July 14, 2025 at 06:53 AM
Privacy: Public