Multiscale differential geometry learning of networks with applications to single-cell RNA sequencing data

Abstract: Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) has emerged as a transformative technology, offering unparalleled insights into the intricate landscape of cellular diversity and gene expression dynamics. The analysis of scRNA-seq data poses challenges attributed to both sparsity and the extensive number of genes implicated. An increasing number of computational tools are devised for analyzing and interpreting scRNA-seq data. We present a multiscale differential geometry (MDG) strategy to exploit the geometric and biological properties inherent in scRNA-seq data. We assume that those intrinsic properties of cells lies on a family of low-dimensional manifolds embedded in the high-dimensional space of scRNA-seq data. Subsequently, we explore these properties via multiscale cell-cell interactive manifolds. Our multiscale curvature-based representation serves as a powerful approach to effectively encapsulate the complex relationships in the cell-cell network. We showcase the utility of our novel approach by demonstrating its effectiveness in classifying cell types. This innovative application of differential geometry in scRNA-seq analysis opens new avenues for understanding the intricacies of biological networks and holds great potential for network analysis in other fields.