Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2025
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.10136 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1866915789514211328 |
|---|---|
| author | Liu, Zhonglin |
| author_facet | Liu, Zhonglin |
| contents | Innate resistance to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy remains a major clinical challenge in metastatic melanoma, with the underlying molecular networks being poorly understood. To address this, we constructed a dynamic Probabilistic Boolean Network model using transcriptomic data from patient tumor biopsies to elucidate the regulatory logic governing therapy response. We then employed a reinforcement learning agent to systematically discover optimal, multi-step therapeutic interventions and used explainable artificial intelligence to mechanistically interpret the agent's control policy. The analysis revealed that a precisely timed, 4-step temporary inhibition of the lysyl oxidase like 2 protein (LOXL2) was the most effective strategy. Our explainable analysis showed that this ''hit-and-run" intervention is sufficient to erase the molecular signature driving resistance, allowing the network to self-correct without requiring sustained intervention. This study presents a novel, time-dependent therapeutic hypothesis for overcoming immunotherapy resistance and provides a powerful computational framework for identifying non-obvious intervention protocols in complex biological systems. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_10136 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | A PBN-RL-XAI Framework for Discovering a "Hit-and-Run" Therapeutic Strategy in Melanoma Liu, Zhonglin Quantitative Methods Artificial Intelligence Innate resistance to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy remains a major clinical challenge in metastatic melanoma, with the underlying molecular networks being poorly understood. To address this, we constructed a dynamic Probabilistic Boolean Network model using transcriptomic data from patient tumor biopsies to elucidate the regulatory logic governing therapy response. We then employed a reinforcement learning agent to systematically discover optimal, multi-step therapeutic interventions and used explainable artificial intelligence to mechanistically interpret the agent's control policy. The analysis revealed that a precisely timed, 4-step temporary inhibition of the lysyl oxidase like 2 protein (LOXL2) was the most effective strategy. Our explainable analysis showed that this ''hit-and-run" intervention is sufficient to erase the molecular signature driving resistance, allowing the network to self-correct without requiring sustained intervention. This study presents a novel, time-dependent therapeutic hypothesis for overcoming immunotherapy resistance and provides a powerful computational framework for identifying non-obvious intervention protocols in complex biological systems. |
| title | A PBN-RL-XAI Framework for Discovering a "Hit-and-Run" Therapeutic Strategy in Melanoma |
| topic | Quantitative Methods Artificial Intelligence |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.10136 |