Multi-resolution Spatial Graphical Regression Models for Hierarchical Spatial Transcriptomics Data

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Chen, Liying, Acharyya, Satwik, May, Allison M., Udager, Aaron M., Keller, Evan T., Baladandayuthapani, Veerabhadran
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2026
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author Chen, Liying
Acharyya, Satwik
May, Allison M.
Udager, Aaron M.
Keller, Evan T.
Baladandayuthapani, Veerabhadran
author_facet Chen, Liying
Acharyya, Satwik
May, Allison M.
Udager, Aaron M.
Keller, Evan T.
Baladandayuthapani, Veerabhadran
contents Advances in spatial transcriptomics (ST) technologies enable systematic molecular characterization of tumor microenvironment, tumor gradients and gene regulatory networks. Cancer progression is known to vary along pathological gradients, yet existing network approaches for gene network inference typically ignore hierarchical spatial organization across the tumor. We develop a Bayesian multi-resolution spatial graphical regression (mSGR) framework to infer spatially varying gene networks from multi-resolution ST data. The proposed model allows precision matrices to vary across hierarchically structured spatial domains, capturing both local and global organization within the tumor. To identify spatially varying regulatory relationships, we introduce a spatially structured edge selection strategy that borrows strength across regions according to spatial proximity and pathological gradients, while Gaussian-process priors flexibly model spatial variation in edge strengths. Scalable inference is achieved through an augmented mean-field variational Bayes algorithm with node-wise parallel regressions, enabling efficient estimation in high-dimensional settings. Simulation studies demonstrate improved recovery of network structures compared with competing approaches. Applying mSGR to multi-resolution ST data from kidney cancer reveals stronger regulatory connectivity in transitional regions of epithelial-mesenchymal transition pathway and identifies hub genes along the tumor gradient, illustrating how spatially resolved network analysis can provide key insights into tumor microenvironment organization.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_16804
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Multi-resolution Spatial Graphical Regression Models for Hierarchical Spatial Transcriptomics Data
Chen, Liying
Acharyya, Satwik
May, Allison M.
Udager, Aaron M.
Keller, Evan T.
Baladandayuthapani, Veerabhadran
Applications
Advances in spatial transcriptomics (ST) technologies enable systematic molecular characterization of tumor microenvironment, tumor gradients and gene regulatory networks. Cancer progression is known to vary along pathological gradients, yet existing network approaches for gene network inference typically ignore hierarchical spatial organization across the tumor. We develop a Bayesian multi-resolution spatial graphical regression (mSGR) framework to infer spatially varying gene networks from multi-resolution ST data. The proposed model allows precision matrices to vary across hierarchically structured spatial domains, capturing both local and global organization within the tumor. To identify spatially varying regulatory relationships, we introduce a spatially structured edge selection strategy that borrows strength across regions according to spatial proximity and pathological gradients, while Gaussian-process priors flexibly model spatial variation in edge strengths. Scalable inference is achieved through an augmented mean-field variational Bayes algorithm with node-wise parallel regressions, enabling efficient estimation in high-dimensional settings. Simulation studies demonstrate improved recovery of network structures compared with competing approaches. Applying mSGR to multi-resolution ST data from kidney cancer reveals stronger regulatory connectivity in transitional regions of epithelial-mesenchymal transition pathway and identifies hub genes along the tumor gradient, illustrating how spatially resolved network analysis can provide key insights into tumor microenvironment organization.
title Multi-resolution Spatial Graphical Regression Models for Hierarchical Spatial Transcriptomics Data
topic Applications
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.16804