Extracellular vesicle-derived miRNA-mediated cell–cell communication inference for single-cell transcriptomic data with miRTalk

Abstract MicroRNAs are released from cells in extracellular vesicles (EVs), representing an essential mode of cell–cell communication (CCC) via a regulatory effect on gene expression. Single-cell RNA-sequencing technologies have ushered in an era of elucidating CCC at single-cell resolution. Herein,...

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Main Authors: Xin Shao, Lingqi Yu, Chengyu Li, Jingyang Qian, Xinyu Yang, Haihong Yang, Jie Liao, Xueru Fan, Xiao Xu, Xiaohui Fan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-04-01
Series:Genome Biology
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s13059-025-03566-x
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author Xin Shao
Lingqi Yu
Chengyu Li
Jingyang Qian
Xinyu Yang
Haihong Yang
Jie Liao
Xueru Fan
Xiao Xu
Xiaohui Fan
author_facet Xin Shao
Lingqi Yu
Chengyu Li
Jingyang Qian
Xinyu Yang
Haihong Yang
Jie Liao
Xueru Fan
Xiao Xu
Xiaohui Fan
author_sort Xin Shao
collection DOAJ
description Abstract MicroRNAs are released from cells in extracellular vesicles (EVs), representing an essential mode of cell–cell communication (CCC) via a regulatory effect on gene expression. Single-cell RNA-sequencing technologies have ushered in an era of elucidating CCC at single-cell resolution. Herein, we present miRTalk, a pioneering approach for inferring CCC mediated by EV-derived miRNA-target interactions (MiTIs). The benchmarking against simulated and real-world datasets demonstrates the superior performance of miRTalk, and the application to four disease scenarios reveals the in-depth MiTI-mediated CCC mechanisms. Collectively, miRTalk can infer EV-derived MiTI-mediated CCC with scRNA-seq data, providing new insights into the intercellular dynamics of biological processes.
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institution OA Journals
issn 1474-760X
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publishDate 2025-04-01
publisher BMC
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series Genome Biology
spelling doaj-art-9e6aac1be2d34303bbb9c836f3febcd12025-08-20T02:28:08ZengBMCGenome Biology1474-760X2025-04-0126113410.1186/s13059-025-03566-xExtracellular vesicle-derived miRNA-mediated cell–cell communication inference for single-cell transcriptomic data with miRTalkXin Shao0Lingqi Yu1Chengyu Li2Jingyang Qian3Xinyu Yang4Haihong Yang5Jie Liao6Xueru Fan7Xiao Xu8Xiaohui Fan9Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Precision Diagnosis and Therapy for Major Gynecological Diseases, Women’S Hospital, Zhejiang University School of MedicineZhejiang Key Laboratory of Precision Diagnosis and Therapy for Major Gynecological Diseases, Women’S Hospital, Zhejiang University School of MedicineState Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine Modernization, Innovation Center of Yangtze River Delta, Zhejiang UniversityState Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine Modernization, Innovation Center of Yangtze River Delta, Zhejiang UniversityThe Center for Integrated Oncology and Precision Medicine, School of Medicine, Affiliated Hangzhou First People’S Hospital, Westlake UniversityCollege of Computer Science and Technology, Zhejiang UniversityState Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine Modernization, Innovation Center of Yangtze River Delta, Zhejiang UniversityState Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine Modernization, Innovation Center of Yangtze River Delta, Zhejiang UniversityDepartment of Hepatobiliary & Pancreatic Surgery and Minimally Invasive Surgery, Zhejiang Provincial People’S Hospital (Affiliated People’s Hospital), Hangzhou Medical CollegeZhejiang Key Laboratory of Precision Diagnosis and Therapy for Major Gynecological Diseases, Women’S Hospital, Zhejiang University School of MedicineAbstract MicroRNAs are released from cells in extracellular vesicles (EVs), representing an essential mode of cell–cell communication (CCC) via a regulatory effect on gene expression. Single-cell RNA-sequencing technologies have ushered in an era of elucidating CCC at single-cell resolution. Herein, we present miRTalk, a pioneering approach for inferring CCC mediated by EV-derived miRNA-target interactions (MiTIs). The benchmarking against simulated and real-world datasets demonstrates the superior performance of miRTalk, and the application to four disease scenarios reveals the in-depth MiTI-mediated CCC mechanisms. Collectively, miRTalk can infer EV-derived MiTI-mediated CCC with scRNA-seq data, providing new insights into the intercellular dynamics of biological processes.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13059-025-03566-xCell–cell communicationExtracellular vesicleMiRNAScRNA-seqSpatial transcriptomics
spellingShingle Xin Shao
Lingqi Yu
Chengyu Li
Jingyang Qian
Xinyu Yang
Haihong Yang
Jie Liao
Xueru Fan
Xiao Xu
Xiaohui Fan
Extracellular vesicle-derived miRNA-mediated cell–cell communication inference for single-cell transcriptomic data with miRTalk
Genome Biology
Cell–cell communication
Extracellular vesicle
MiRNA
ScRNA-seq
Spatial transcriptomics
title Extracellular vesicle-derived miRNA-mediated cell–cell communication inference for single-cell transcriptomic data with miRTalk
title_full Extracellular vesicle-derived miRNA-mediated cell–cell communication inference for single-cell transcriptomic data with miRTalk
title_fullStr Extracellular vesicle-derived miRNA-mediated cell–cell communication inference for single-cell transcriptomic data with miRTalk
title_full_unstemmed Extracellular vesicle-derived miRNA-mediated cell–cell communication inference for single-cell transcriptomic data with miRTalk
title_short Extracellular vesicle-derived miRNA-mediated cell–cell communication inference for single-cell transcriptomic data with miRTalk
title_sort extracellular vesicle derived mirna mediated cell cell communication inference for single cell transcriptomic data with mirtalk
topic Cell–cell communication
Extracellular vesicle
MiRNA
ScRNA-seq
Spatial transcriptomics
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s13059-025-03566-x
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