Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32746932›Full record

ArticleGenome biology2020

Knowledge-primed neural networks enable biologically interpretable deep learning on single-cell sequencing data.

Nikolaus Fortelny, Christoph Bock

Abstract readComparative StudyValidation Study
In one paragraph

Article in Genome biology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 77 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
77citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

77 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  13. Using Biological Networks to Guide Biomedical Prediction.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2026
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17 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Nikolaus FortelnyCeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria.
Christoph BockCeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria. cbock@cemm.oeaw.ac.at.ORCID 0000-0001-6091-3088

Funding

European Research Council 679146
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDeep learning has emerged as a versatile approach for predicting complex biological phenomena. However, its utility for biological discovery has so far been limited, given that generic deep neural networks provide little insight into the biological mechanisms that underlie a successful prediction. Here we demonstrate deep learning on biological networks, where every node has a molecular equivalent, such as a protein or gene, and every edge has a mechanistic interpretation, such as a regulatory interaction along a signaling pathway.

resultsWith knowledge-primed neural networks (KPNNs), we exploit the ability of deep learning algorithms to assign meaningful weights in multi-layered networks, resulting in a widely applicable approach for interpretable deep learning. We present a learning method that enhances the interpretability of trained KPNNs by stabilizing node weights in the presence of redundancy, enhancing the quantitative interpretability of node weights, and controlling for uneven connectivity in biological networks. We validate KPNNs on simulated data with known ground truth and demonstrate their practical use and utility in five biological applications with single-cell RNA-seq data for cancer and immune cells.

conclusionsWe introduce KPNNs as a method that combines the predictive power of deep learning with the interpretability of biological networks. While demonstrated here on single-cell sequencing data, this method is broadly relevant to other research areas where prior domain knowledge can be represented as networks.

Indexed as

Deep LearningSequence Analysis, RNASingle-Cell AnalysisHumansReceptors, Antigen, T-CellSignal TransductionReceptors, Antigen, T-CellArtificial neural networksBioinformatic modelingCell signaling networksDeep learningFunctional genomicsGene regulationInterpretable machine learningSingle-cell sequencing

Identifiers

PMID32746932
PMCPMC7397672

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.