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Publications of Eduardo D. Sontag jointly with S. Wang
Articles in journal or book chapters
  1. S. Wang, E.D. Sontag, and D.A. Lauffenburger. What cannot be seen correctly in 2D visualizations of single-cell 'omics data?. Cell Systems, 14:723-731, 2023. [WWW] [PDF] Keyword(s): visualization, single-cell data, tSNE, UMAP.
    Abstract:
    Single-cell -omics datasets are high-dimensional and difficult to visualize. A common strategy for exploring such data is to create and analyze 2D projections. Such projections may be highly nonlinear, and implementation algorithms are designed with the goal of preserving aspects of the original high-dimensional shape of data such as neighborhood relationships or metrics. However, important aspects of high-dimensional geometry are known from mathematical theory to have no equivalent representation in 2D, or are subject to large distortions, and will therefore be misrepresented or even invisible in any possible 2D representation. We show that features such as quantitative distances, relative positioning, and qualitative neighborhoods of high-dimensional data points will always be misrepresented in 2D projections. Our results rely upon concepts from differential geometry, combinatorial geometry, and algebraic topology. As an illustrative example, we show that even a simple single-cell RNA sequencing dataset will always be distorted, no matter what 2D projection is employed. We also discuss how certain recently developed computational tools can help describe the high-dimensional geometric features that will be necessarily missing from any possible 2D projections.


  2. S. Wang, J.-R. Lin, E.D. Sontag, and P.K. Sorger. Inferring reaction network structure from single-cell, multiplex data, using toric systems theory. PLoS Computational Biology, 15:e1007311, 2019. [WWW] [PDF] Keyword(s): chemical reaction networks, stoichiometry, complex balancing, toric varieties, systems biology.
    Abstract:
    The goal of many single-cell studies on eukaryotic cells is to gain insight into the biochemical reactions that control cell fate and state. This paper introduces the concept of effective stoichiometric space (ESS) to guide the reconstruction of biochemical networks from multiplexed, fixed time-point, single-cell data. In contrast to methods based solely on statistical models of data, the ESS method leverages the power of the geometric theory of toric varieties to begin unraveling the structure of chemical reaction networks (CRN). This application of toric theory enables a data-driven mapping of covariance relationships in single cell measurements into stoichiometric information, one in which each cell subpopulation has its associated ESS interpreted in terms of CRN theory. In the development of ESS we reframe certain aspects of the theory of CRN to better match data analysis. As an application of our approach we process cytomery- and image-based single-cell datasets and identify differences in cells treated with kinase inhibitors. Our approach is directly applicable to data acquired using readily accessible experimental methods such as Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting (FACS) and multiplex immunofluorescence.



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Last modified: Mon Mar 18 14:40:24 2024
Author: sontag.


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