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Scale-Aware Compositional Inference Improves Reproducibility and Uncovers Convergent Aging Programs in Spatial Transcriptomics

Parmaksiz, D.; Manjila, S. B.; McGovern, K.; Shin, D.; Bjerke, I. E.; Paul, A.; Silverman, J.; Kim, Y.

2026-07-30 genomics
10.64898/2026.07.27.740958 bioRxiv
Show abstract

Spatial transcriptomics enables analysis of molecular organization with anatomical context. Existing spatial differential expression methods are restricted to within-sample inference, forcing between-sample comparisons to rely on approaches adapted from single-cell RNA-seq. Here, we establish a scale-aware inference framework for spatial differential expression by modeling compositional constraints and variation in total RNA abundance rather than removing them through normalization, enabling calibrated between-sample inference at cell-level resolution. Our method produces more reliable results in simulated data and different spatial platforms. When applied to aged mouse brains, the analysis reveals converging aging-associated programs involving cellular signaling, membrane homeostasis, and neurovasculature across independent datasets.

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