Sparse group principal component analysis via double thresholding with application to multi-cellular programs

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Xu, Qi, Lei, Jing, Roeder, Kathryn
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2026
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author Xu, Qi
Lei, Jing
Roeder, Kathryn
author_facet Xu, Qi
Lei, Jing
Roeder, Kathryn
contents Multi-cellular programs (MCPs) are coordinated patterns of gene expression across interacting cell types that collectively drive complex biological processes such as tissue development and immune responses. While MCPs are typically estimated from high-dimensional gene expression data using methods like sparse principal component analysis or latent factor models, these approaches often suffer from high computational costs and limited statistical power. In this work, we propose Sparse Group Principal Component Analysis (SGPCA) to estimate MCPs by leveraging their inherent group and individual sparsity. We introduce an efficient double-thresholding algorithm based on power iteration. In each iteration, a group thresholding step first identifies relevant gene groups, followed by an individual thresholding step to select active cell types. This algorithm achieves a linear computational complexity of $O(np)$, making it highly efficient and scalable for large-scale genomic analyses. We establish theoretical guarantees for SGPCA, including statistical consistency and a convergence rate that surpasses competing methods. Through extensive simulations, we demonstrate that SGPCA achieves superior estimation accuracy and improved statistical power for signal detection. Furthermore, We apply SGPCA to a Lupus study, discovering differentially expressed MCPs distinguishing Lupus patients from normal subjects.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_04178
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Sparse group principal component analysis via double thresholding with application to multi-cellular programs
Xu, Qi
Lei, Jing
Roeder, Kathryn
Methodology
Applications
Computation
Multi-cellular programs (MCPs) are coordinated patterns of gene expression across interacting cell types that collectively drive complex biological processes such as tissue development and immune responses. While MCPs are typically estimated from high-dimensional gene expression data using methods like sparse principal component analysis or latent factor models, these approaches often suffer from high computational costs and limited statistical power. In this work, we propose Sparse Group Principal Component Analysis (SGPCA) to estimate MCPs by leveraging their inherent group and individual sparsity. We introduce an efficient double-thresholding algorithm based on power iteration. In each iteration, a group thresholding step first identifies relevant gene groups, followed by an individual thresholding step to select active cell types. This algorithm achieves a linear computational complexity of $O(np)$, making it highly efficient and scalable for large-scale genomic analyses. We establish theoretical guarantees for SGPCA, including statistical consistency and a convergence rate that surpasses competing methods. Through extensive simulations, we demonstrate that SGPCA achieves superior estimation accuracy and improved statistical power for signal detection. Furthermore, We apply SGPCA to a Lupus study, discovering differentially expressed MCPs distinguishing Lupus patients from normal subjects.
title Sparse group principal component analysis via double thresholding with application to multi-cellular programs
topic Methodology
Applications
Computation
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.04178