Batch effects in input data and reliability of applying xCell to non-human species

[cwang131]

Hi,

I've been trying to apply xCell to some data that has batch effect issue across groups of interest. I wonder if aggregated data containing those from different batches without batch correction could be used as input for xCell scoring and if downstream comparison of a cell-type score across groups could still be reliable. The manuscript touched briefly on the robustness against batch effect in the discussion. I'd appreciate your insights.

In addition, related to a previous issue (#26), I wonder if xCell could be applied to non-human species, such as rats, mice, and ferrets.

Thank you!

[dviraran]

Hi,

Regarding batch effects - xCell uses gene expression ranks and not the levels themselves. This means that different normalization and batch effect corrections will have little effect on the xCell analysis.

Regarding non-human, I don't recommend it, it is not trained for non-human species. However, I know that some groups got ok results with the current version of xCell in other primates and mice.

Best,
Dvir

[cwang131]

Thank you very much for your help! I really appreciate it.