scBeacon: single-cell biomarker extraction via identifying paired cell clusters across biological conditions with contrastive siamese networks

Abstract: Despite the breakthroughs in biomarker discovery facilitated by differential gene analysis, challenges remain, particularly at the single-cell level. Traditional methodologies heavily rely on user-supplied cell annotations, focusing on individually expressed data, often neglecting the critical interactions between biological conditions, such as healthy versus diseased states. In response, here we introduce scBeacon, an innovative framework built upon a deep contrastive siamese network. scBeacon pioneers an unsupervised approach, adeptly identifying matched cell populations across varied conditions, enabling a refined differential gene analysis. By utilizing a VQ-VAE framework, a contrastive siamese network, and a greedy iterative strategy, scBeacon effectively pinpoints differential genes that hold potential as key biomarkers. Comprehensive evaluations on a diverse array of datasets validate scBeacon's superiority over existing single-cell differential gene analysis tools. Its precision and adaptability underscore its significant role in enhancing diagnostic accuracy in biomarker discovery. With the emphasis on the importance of biomarkers in diagnosis, scBeacon is positioned to be a pivotal asset in the evolution of personalized medicine and targeted treatments.