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Statistical mechanics approach to the sample deconvolution problem

N. Riedel and J. Berg
Phys. Rev. E 87, 042715 – Published 18 April 2013
Physics logo See Synopsis: Identifying Cellular Concentrations via Fluctuations

Abstract

In a multicellular organism different cell types express a gene in different amounts. Samples from which gene expression levels can be measured typically contain a mixture of different cell types; the resulting measurements thus give only averages over the different cell types present. Based on fluctuations in the mixture proportions from sample to sample it is in principle possible to reconstruct the underlying expression levels of each cell type: to deconvolute the sample. We use a statistical mechanics approach to the problem of deconvoluting such partial concentrations from mixed samples, explore this approach using Markov chain Monte Carlo simulations, and give analytical results for when and how well samples can be unmixed.

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  • Received 22 January 2013

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.87.042715

©2013 American Physical Society

Synopsis

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Identifying Cellular Concentrations via Fluctuations

Published 18 April 2013

The composition of cells in tissues can be found using statistical fluctuations of cell types.

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Authors & Affiliations

N. Riedel* and J. Berg

  • Institut für Theoretische Physik, University of Cologne - Zülpicher Straße 77, 50937 Köln, Germany Sybacol, University of Cologne, Germany

  • *nriedel@thp.uni-koeln.de
  • berg@thp.uni-koeln.de

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Vol. 87, Iss. 4 — April 2013

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