Multivariate regression with missing response data for modelling regional DNA methylation QTLs

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Alam, Shomoita, Zeng, Yixiao, Bernatsky, Sasha, Hudson, Marie, Colmegna, Inés, Stephens, David A., Greenwood, Celia M. T., Yang, Archer Y.
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2025
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author Alam, Shomoita
Zeng, Yixiao
Bernatsky, Sasha
Hudson, Marie
Colmegna, Inés
Stephens, David A.
Greenwood, Celia M. T.
Yang, Archer Y.
author_facet Alam, Shomoita
Zeng, Yixiao
Bernatsky, Sasha
Hudson, Marie
Colmegna, Inés
Stephens, David A.
Greenwood, Celia M. T.
Yang, Archer Y.
contents Identifying genetic regulators of DNA methylation (mQTLs) with multivariate models enhances statistical power, but is challenged by missing data from bisulfite sequencing. Standard imputation-based methods can introduce bias, limiting reliable inference. We propose \texttt{missoNet}, a novel convex estimation framework that jointly estimates regression coefficients and the precision matrix from data with missing responses. By using unbiased surrogate estimators, our three-stage procedure avoids imputation while simultaneously performing variable selection and learning the conditional dependence structure among responses. We establish theoretical error bounds, and our simulations demonstrate that \texttt{missoNet} consistently outperforms existing methods in both prediction and sparsity recovery. In a real-world mQTL analysis of the CARTaGENE cohort, \texttt{missoNet} achieved superior predictive accuracy and false-discovery control on a held-out validation set, identifying known and credible novel genetic associations. The method offers a robust, efficient, and theoretically grounded tool for genomic analyses, and is available as an R package.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_05990
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Multivariate regression with missing response data for modelling regional DNA methylation QTLs
Alam, Shomoita
Zeng, Yixiao
Bernatsky, Sasha
Hudson, Marie
Colmegna, Inés
Stephens, David A.
Greenwood, Celia M. T.
Yang, Archer Y.
Methodology
Identifying genetic regulators of DNA methylation (mQTLs) with multivariate models enhances statistical power, but is challenged by missing data from bisulfite sequencing. Standard imputation-based methods can introduce bias, limiting reliable inference. We propose \texttt{missoNet}, a novel convex estimation framework that jointly estimates regression coefficients and the precision matrix from data with missing responses. By using unbiased surrogate estimators, our three-stage procedure avoids imputation while simultaneously performing variable selection and learning the conditional dependence structure among responses. We establish theoretical error bounds, and our simulations demonstrate that \texttt{missoNet} consistently outperforms existing methods in both prediction and sparsity recovery. In a real-world mQTL analysis of the CARTaGENE cohort, \texttt{missoNet} achieved superior predictive accuracy and false-discovery control on a held-out validation set, identifying known and credible novel genetic associations. The method offers a robust, efficient, and theoretically grounded tool for genomic analyses, and is available as an R package.
title Multivariate regression with missing response data for modelling regional DNA methylation QTLs
topic Methodology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.05990