dynamo-lap-cell-fate-transition

name

dynamo-lap-cell-fate-transition

description

Compute least action paths (LAP) between hematopoietic or general cell types in a dynamo vector-field AnnData, then rank transcription factors by MSD along each path and evaluate predictions via ROC analysis. Use when running dyn.pd.compute_cell_type_transitions, predicting optimal cell fate conversion trajectories, prioritizing transcription factor cocktails for cell reprogramming, or reproducing the 501_lap_tutorial.ipynb workflow on scNT-seq or metabolic-labeling data.

Dynamo Least Action Path Cell Fate Transition

Goal

Given a dynamo AnnData with a completed vector field and ddhodge potential in UMAP space, compute pairwise least action paths (LAPs) between all requested cell types, extract per-path action and time metrics, rank transcription factors by their mean square displacement (MSD) along each path, and evaluate TF prioritization quality via ROC analysis.

Quick Workflow

1. Confirm the input AnnData has VecFld_umap, umap_ddhodge_potential, and a cell type column.
2. Build a UMAP-basis neighbor graph with dyn.tl.neighbors(..., basis='umap', result_prefix='umap').
3. Run dyn.pd.compute_cell_type_transitions(...) to compute LAPs for all requested cell type pairs.
4. Persist transition_graph and cells_indices to disk with dyn.utils.save_pickle(...) — this step is long-running.
5. Load a human TF list with dyn.sample_data.human_tfs().
6. Extract action and time matrices with dyn.pd.extract_transition_metrics(...).
7. Plot kinetic heatmaps of gene expression dynamics along selected paths with dyn.pd.plot_kinetic_heatmap(...).
8. Rank TFs across all transitions with dyn.pd.analyze_transition_tfs(...).
9. Evaluate TF ranking quality with dyn.pd.analyze_tf_roc_performance(...).

Interface Summary

• dyn.tl.neighbors(adata, X_data=None, genes=None, basis='pca', layer=None, n_pca_components=30, n_neighbors=30, method=None, metric='euclidean', metric_kwads=None, cores=1, seed=19491001, result_prefix='', **kwargs) — build neighbor graph; use basis='umap', result_prefix='umap' to create the X_umap_distances adjacency needed by LAP.
• dyn.pd.compute_cell_type_transitions(adata, cell_types, potential_column='umap_ddhodge_potential', cell_type_column='cell_type', reference_cell_types=None, basis_list=['umap', 'pca'], umap_adj_key='X_umap_distances', pca_adj_key='cosine_transition_matrix', EM_steps=2, top_genes=5, enable_plotting=True, enable_gene_analysis=True, marginal_method='combined', verify_selection=False, manual_cell_indices=None, manual_source_indices=None, manual_target_indices=None) — core LAP computation; returns (transition_graph, cells_indices).
• dyn.pd.extract_transition_metrics(transition_graph, cells_indices_dict, cell_types, transcription_factors, top_tf_genes=10, lap_method='action') — extract action and time DataFrames per transition pair; returns (action_df, t_df, tf_genes).
• dyn.pd.plot_kinetic_heatmap(adata, cells_indices_dict, source_cell_type, target_cell_type, transcription_factors, basis='pca', adj_key='cosine_transition_matrix', figsize=(16, 8), color_map='bwr', font_scale=0.8, scaler=0.6, save_path=None, show_plot=True, return_data=False) — plot gene expression dynamics along a LAP.
• dyn.pd.analyze_kinetic_genes(adata, cells_indices_dict, source_cell_type, target_cell_type, transcription_factors, top_genes=20, basis='pca', adj_key='cosine_transition_matrix') — rank TFs by MSD along one selected LAP; returns (ranking_df, top_tfs).
• dyn.pd.analyze_transition_tfs(transition_graph, human_tfs_names, transitions_config, plot_type='transdifferentiation', known_tfs_dict=None, transition_pmids=None, transition_types=None, total_tf_count=133, transition_color_dict=None, figsize=(8, 5)) — all-in-one: process rankings, build matrix, and plot for one transition type.
• dyn.pd.process_all_transition_rankings(transition_graph, human_tfs_names, known_tfs_dict=None) — step-wise version: add TF and known_TF columns to all transitions; returns processed_rankings.
• dyn.pd.create_reprogramming_matrix(transition_graph, transitions_config, transition_pmids=None, transition_types=None, total_tf_count=133) — build normalized priority-score DataFrame; returns (reprogramming_dict, reprogramming_df). Important: pass {} not None for and — the current source does not guard against None (see ).

Read references/source-grounding.md for inspected signatures and storage key evidence.

Stage Selection

• Stage 1 — LAP computation: compute_cell_type_transitions with enable_plotting=True, enable_gene_analysis=True. This is the slow step. Save outputs with save_pickle before proceeding.
• Stage 2 — Metrics and visualization: extract_transition_metrics, LAP path plotting, action/time heatmaps. Load from pickle if Stage 1 was already run.
• Stage 3 — Kinetic heatmaps: plot_kinetic_heatmap and analyze_kinetic_genes for specific source–target pairs. Requires cells_indices and the adata with fitted vector field.
• Stage 4 — TF ranking and ROC: analyze_transition_tfs or the three-step pattern (process_all_transition_rankings → create_reprogramming_matrix → plot_transition_tf_analysis), then analyze_tf_roc_performance.

Use analyze_transition_tfs (all-in-one) for the quickest path. Use the three-step pattern when you need fine-grained control over known TF dictionaries, PMID tables, or plot parameters.

Read references/stage-selection.md for details on marginal_method, lap_method, and plot_type branch options.

Input Contract

• AnnData with VecFld_umap in .uns (vector field must already be fitted).
• adata.obs[potential_column] exists (default umap_ddhodge_potential); populated by dyn.ext.ddhodge.
• adata.obsm['X_umap'] and adata.obsm['X_pca'] exist.
• adata.obsp['cosine_transition_matrix'] exists before calling PCA-basis LAP or kinetic heatmap.
• A cell type label column in adata.obs (default cell_type).
• A transcription factor name list (e.g., from dyn.sample_data.human_tfs() for human datasets).
• The hematopoiesis worked example loads from dyn.sample_data.hematopoiesis() — it already includes all required fields.

Minimal Execution Patterns

Stage 1 — LAP computation

import dynamo as dyn

adata = dyn.sample_data.hematopoiesis()

# Build UMAP neighbor graph needed for LAP
dyn.tl.neighbors(adata, basis="umap", result_prefix="umap")

cell_types = ["HSC", "Meg", "Ery", "Bas", "Mon", "Neu"]

transition_graph, cells_indices = dyn.pd.compute_cell_type_transitions(
    adata=adata,
    cell_types=cell_types,
    reference_cell_types=["HSC"],
    marginal_method="combined",
    potential_column="umap_ddhodge_potential",
    cell_type_column="cell_type",
    EM_steps=2,
    top_genes=5,
    enable_plotting=True,
    enable_gene_analysis=True,
)

# Persist — this step is expensive
dyn.utils.save_pickle(transition_graph, "result/transition_graph.pkl")
dyn.utils.save_pickle(cells_indices, "result/cells_indices.pkl")
adata.write("result/adata_labeling_analysis.h5ad")

Stage 2 — Metrics extraction

transition_graph = dyn.utils.load_pickle("result/transition_graph.pkl")
cells_indices = dyn.utils.load_pickle("result/cells_indices.pkl")

human_tfs = dyn.sample_data.human_tfs()
human_tfs_names = list(human_tfs["Symbol"])

action_df, t_df, tf_genes = dyn.pd.extract_transition_metrics(
    transition_graph=transition_graph,
    cells_indices_dict=cells_indices,
    cell_types=cell_types,
    transcription_factors=human_tfs_names,
    top_tf_genes=10,
    lap_method="action_t",   # 'action' or 'action_t'
)

Stage 3 — Kinetic heatmap for one pair

ranking, top_tfs = dyn.pd.analyze_kinetic_genes(
    adata=adata,
    cells_indices_dict=cells_indices,
    source_cell_type="HSC",
    target_cell_type="Bas",
    transcription_factors=human_tfs_names,
    top_genes=15,
)

dyn.pd.plot_kinetic_heatmap(
    adata=adata,
    cells_indices_dict=cells_indices,
    source_cell_type="HSC",
    target_cell_type="Bas",
    transcription_factors=human_tfs_names,
    save_path="figures/HSC_to_Bas.png",
    figsize=(16, 4),
)

Stage 4 — TF ranking and ROC

KNOWN_TFS_DICT = {
    "HSC->Meg": ["GATA1", "GATA2", "ZFPM1", "GFI1B", "FLI1", "NFE2"],
    # ... add other transitions
}
TRANSITIONS_CONFIG = {
    "standard": [
        "HSC->Meg", "HSC->Ery", "HSC->Bas", "HSC->Mon", "HSC->Neu",
        "Meg->HSC", "Meg->Neu", "Ery->Mon", "Mon->Meg", "Mon->Ery",
        "Mon->Bas", "Neu->Bas"
    ],
    "special": {"Ery->Neu": {"sets": [("TFs1", "TFs_rank1", "Ery->Neu1"), ("TFs2", "TFs_rank2", "Ery->Neu2")]}},
}

# All-in-one path
processed_rankings, reprogramming_dict, reprogramming_df = dyn.pd.analyze_transition_tfs(
    transition_graph=transition_graph,
    human_tfs_names=human_tfs_names,
    transitions_config=TRANSITIONS_CONFIG,
    plot_type="transdifferentiation",
    known_tfs_dict=KNOWN_TFS_DICT,
    total_tf_count=133,
)

# ROC analysis
roc_results = dyn.pd.analyze_tf_roc_performance(
    processed_rankings=processed_rankings,
    plot_roc=True,
    roc_plot_params={"figsize": (3, 3), "fontsize": 12, "legend_size": 12},
)
print("AUC:", roc_results["roc_auc"])

Validation

After LAP computation, confirm:

• transition_graph contains keys for each A->B pair
• Each entry has LAP_umap with prediction and action sub-keys
• cells_indices contains one entry per cell type in cell_types
• Pickle files written successfully to disk

After metrics extraction, confirm:

• action_df.shape == (len(cell_types), len(cell_types))
• t_df.shape == (len(cell_types), len(cell_types))
• tf_genes is a dict keyed by transition names

After kinetic heatmap, confirm:

• Output figure file exists at save_path if provided
• ranking DataFrame contains MSD scores
• top_tfs list is non-empty

After TF ranking and ROC, confirm:

• processed_rankings contains one entry per transition
• Each entry has TFs and TFs_rank (or TFs1/TFs2 for special cases)
• reprogramming_df columns include genes, rank, transition, type
• roc_results['roc_auc'] is a float between 0 and 1

Constraints

• compute_cell_type_transitions requires VecFld_umap and umap_ddhodge_potential to be precomputed.
• Run dyn.tl.neighbors(adata, basis='umap', result_prefix='umap') before compute_cell_type_transitions; it creates adata.obsp['X_umap_distances'] required for UMAP-basis LAP.
• The EM_steps parameter controls the number of iterative optimization rounds; lower values (1–2) are faster for smoke paths; default 2 is used in the tutorial.
• Do not treat the hematopoiesis cell type labels, KNOWN_TFS_DICT, or TRANSITION_PMIDS dicts as required skill inputs — they are hematopoiesis-specific worked example parameters.
• The transitions_config['special'] key handles transitions with two alternative known TF sets (e.g., Ery->Neu). Define it explicitly if your dataset has such ambiguity.
• dyn.pd.plot_kinetic_heatmap is a prediction module function distinct from dyn.pl.kinetic_heatmap; they have different signatures and purposes.
• Set enable_gene_analysis=True (default) whenever TF prioritization or kinetic heatmaps are needed; with enable_gene_analysis=False, gtraj and ranking are absent from transition_graph, causing process_all_transition_rankings to fail and extract_transition_metrics to skip TF extraction with a logged error.

Resource Map

• Read references/stage-selection.md when choosing marginal_method, lap_method, or plot_type.
• Read references/source-grounding.md for full inspected signatures and storage key evidence.
• Read references/source-notebook-map.md to trace 501_lap_tutorial.ipynb sections to skill resources.
• Read references/compatibility.md when encountering API name mismatches or missing attributes.
• Use assets/acceptance.json for the bounded smoke paths used by local acceptance.