Rescue Blood Contamination in scRNA-Seq Data by Originator, a Computational Deciphering Tool using Genetic and Contextual Information

Abstract

Single-cell RNA sequencing data from complex human tissues are prone to blood contamination in sample preparation, and some comprise cells of different genetic makeups, necessitating rigorous preprocessing and cell filtering prior to the downstream functional analysis. Our proposed new computational framework, Originator, deciphers single cells by genetic origin and separates blood cells from tissue-resident cells. It improves the quality of data analysis, exemplified by pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and placenta tissues.