Linearized Optimal Transport for Analysis of High-Dimensional Point-Cloud and Single-Cell Data

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Wang, Tianxiang, Ke, Yingtong, Bhaskar, Dhananjay, Krishnaswamy, Smita, Cloninger, Alexander
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Wang, Tianxiang
Ke, Yingtong
Bhaskar, Dhananjay
Krishnaswamy, Smita
Cloninger, Alexander
author_facet Wang, Tianxiang
Ke, Yingtong
Bhaskar, Dhananjay
Krishnaswamy, Smita
Cloninger, Alexander
contents Single-cell technologies generate high-dimensional point clouds of cells, enabling detailed characterization of complex patient states and treatment responses. Yet each patient is represented by an irregular point cloud rather than a simple vector, making it difficult to directly quantify and compare biological differences between individuals. Nonlinear methods such as kernels and neural networks achieve predictive accuracy but act as black boxes, offering little biological interpretability. To address these limitations, we adapt the Linear Optimal Transport (LOT) framework to this setting, embedding irregular point clouds into a fixed-dimensional Euclidean space while preserving distributional structure. This embedding provides a principled linear representation that preserves optimal transport geometry while enabling downstream analysis. It also forms a registration between any two patients, enabling direct comparison of their cellular distributions. Within this space, LOT enables: (i) \textbf{accurate and interpretable classification} of COVID-19 patient states, where classifier weights map back to specific markers and spatial regions driving predictions; and (ii) \textbf{synthetic data generation} for patient-derived organoids, exploiting the linearity of the LOT embedding. LOT barycenters yield averaged cellular profiles representing combined conditions or samples, supporting drug interaction testing. Together, these results establish LOT as a unified framework that bridges predictive performance, interpretability, and generative modeling. By transforming heterogeneous point clouds into structured embeddings directly traceable to the original data, LOT opens new opportunities for understanding immune variation and treatment effects in high-dimensional biological systems.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_22033
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Linearized Optimal Transport for Analysis of High-Dimensional Point-Cloud and Single-Cell Data
Wang, Tianxiang
Ke, Yingtong
Bhaskar, Dhananjay
Krishnaswamy, Smita
Cloninger, Alexander
Machine Learning
Quantitative Methods
68T05
Single-cell technologies generate high-dimensional point clouds of cells, enabling detailed characterization of complex patient states and treatment responses. Yet each patient is represented by an irregular point cloud rather than a simple vector, making it difficult to directly quantify and compare biological differences between individuals. Nonlinear methods such as kernels and neural networks achieve predictive accuracy but act as black boxes, offering little biological interpretability. To address these limitations, we adapt the Linear Optimal Transport (LOT) framework to this setting, embedding irregular point clouds into a fixed-dimensional Euclidean space while preserving distributional structure. This embedding provides a principled linear representation that preserves optimal transport geometry while enabling downstream analysis. It also forms a registration between any two patients, enabling direct comparison of their cellular distributions. Within this space, LOT enables: (i) \textbf{accurate and interpretable classification} of COVID-19 patient states, where classifier weights map back to specific markers and spatial regions driving predictions; and (ii) \textbf{synthetic data generation} for patient-derived organoids, exploiting the linearity of the LOT embedding. LOT barycenters yield averaged cellular profiles representing combined conditions or samples, supporting drug interaction testing. Together, these results establish LOT as a unified framework that bridges predictive performance, interpretability, and generative modeling. By transforming heterogeneous point clouds into structured embeddings directly traceable to the original data, LOT opens new opportunities for understanding immune variation and treatment effects in high-dimensional biological systems.
title Linearized Optimal Transport for Analysis of High-Dimensional Point-Cloud and Single-Cell Data
topic Machine Learning
Quantitative Methods
68T05
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.22033