Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40568942›Full record

ArticleNucleic acids research2025

MEBOCOST maps metabolite-mediated intercellular communications using single-cell RNA-seq.

Rongbin Zheng, Yang Zhang, Tadataka Tsuji, Xinlei Gao, Farnaz Shamsi, Allon Wagner, Nir Yosef, Kui Cui, Hong Chen, Michael A Kiebish and 5 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nucleic acids research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
20citing papers in PubMed
–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

20 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. IGF2-associated tumor cells and APOE-positive macrophages define an imatinib resistance-associated niche in gastrointestinal stromal tumors.Gastric cancer : official journal of the International Gastric Cancer Association and the Japanese Gastric Cancer Association · 2026
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  6. Vorinostat Potentiates Chemoimmunotherapy in Immune-Enriched Pancreatic Cancer.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026
    Article
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  11. Review
  12. S100A8Frontiers in immunology · 2026
    Article
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  15. Review
  16. Article
  17. Review
  18. Article
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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

15 authors.

Rongbin ZhengDepartment of Cardiology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, United States.
Yang ZhangSection on Integrative Physiology and Metabolism, Joslin Diabetes Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, United States.
Tadataka TsujiSection on Integrative Physiology and Metabolism, Joslin Diabetes Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, United States.
Xinlei GaoDepartment of Cardiology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, United States.
Farnaz ShamsiSection on Integrative Physiology and Metabolism, Joslin Diabetes Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, United States.
Allon WagnerDepartment of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley CA, 94720, United States.
Nir YosefDepartment of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley CA, 94720, United States.ORCID 0000-0001-9004-1225
Kui CuiVascular Biology Program, Boston Children's Hospital and Department of Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, United States.
Hong ChenVascular Biology Program, Boston Children's Hospital and Department of Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, United States.
Michael A KiebishBPGbio, Framingham, MA, 01701, United States.
Juan J Aristizabal-HenaoBPGbio, Framingham, MA, 01701, United States.
Niven R NarainBPGbio, Framingham, MA, 01701, United States.
Lili ZhangDepartment of Cardiology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-5032-7031
Yu-Hua TsengSection on Integrative Physiology and Metabolism, Joslin Diabetes Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, United States.ORCID 0000-0003-2053-9559
Kaifu ChenDepartment of Cardiology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, United States.ORCID 0000-0003-1009-4357

Funding

SPECIAL ASSAY COREP30DK036836 · NIDDK · JOSLIN DIABETES CENTER · PI JEAN E. SCHAFFER · 1986 to 2026
$50.5M
Fibroblast Growth Factor and Energy MetabolismR01DK102898 · NIDDK · JOSLIN DIABETES CENTER · PI TSENG, YU-HUA · 2015 to 2024
$4.1M
Transcriptional and epigenetic regulation of thermogenic adipocyte programR01DK132469 · NIDDK · JOSLIN DIABETES CENTER · PI Yu-Hua Tseng · 2022 to 2026
$3.0M
Reversal of Heart Failure: Role of Vascular RecoveryR01HL148338 · NHLBI · METHODIST HOSPITAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE · PI CHEN, KAIFU, COOKE, JOHN P · 2020 to 2023
$2.8M
Dissecting the thermogenic adipose nicheR01DK133528 · NIDDK · JOSLIN DIABETES CENTER · PI TSENG, YU-HUA · 2022 to 2025
$2.8M
Transcription Factor 4 Maintain Endothelial identity to Oppose Heart FailureR01HL155632 · NHLBI · BOSTON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL · PI Lili Zhang · 2022 to 2026
$2.5M
A novel role for EZH2 in A-to-I RNA editing in prostate cancerR01CA278832 · NCI · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY AT CHICAGO · PI Qi Cao, Kaifu Chen · 2024 to 2026
$2.0M
Bioinformatics Techniques to Analyze Dynamic Changes of 3D GenomeR01GM138407 · NIGMS · BOSTON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL · PI CHEN, KAIFU · 2022 to 2025
$1.8M
Role of S-nitrosylation in TransdifferentiationR01HL133254 · NHLBI · METHODIST HOSPITAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE · PI CHEN, KAIFU, COOKE, JOHN P · 2018 to 2021
$1.6M
Computational epigenetics modeling of cell identity genesR01GM125632 · NIGMS · METHODIST HOSPITAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE · PI CHEN, KAIFU · 2018 to 2021
$1.4M
Division of Cancer PreventionNCI NIH HHS R01CA278832NHLBI NIH HHS R01HL133254NHLBI NIH HHS R01HL148338NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL155632NHLBI NIH HHS R01HL155632NIDDK NIH HHS P30 DK036836NIDDK NIH HHS R01 DK102898NIDDK NIH HHS R01 DK132469NIDDK NIH HHS R01DK132469NIDDK NIH HHS R01 DK133528NIDDK NIH HHS R01DK133528NIGMS NIH HHS R01GM125632NIGMS NIH HHS R01GM138407
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Cell-cell communication (CCC) is crucial for cellular function and tissue homeostasis. Existing methods for protein-oriented CCC detection often overlook metabolite-mediated CCC (mCCC), and adapting them to mCCC analysis is challenging due to fundamental differences in the underlying biological mechanisms. To fill this gap, we developed MEBOCOST, an algorithm built on scRNA-seq and metabolic flux balance analysis to detect mCCC among single cells. Comprehensive benchmarking analyses based on simulation, spatial, CRISPR screen, and clinical patient data demonstrated the robustness of MEBOCOST in detecting biologically significant mCCC events. We applied MEBOCOST to scRNA-seq datasets of human white adipose tissues and unraveled macrophages were the predominant source of mCCC reprogramming in obese patients. Moreover, analysis in mice brown adipose tissue successfully recapitulated known and further uncovered new mCCC events, including a glutamine-mediated endothelial-to-adipocyte communication, which was experimentally verified to regulate adipocyte differentiation. Therefore, MEBOCOST is a valuable tool for researchers investigating mCCC in diverse biological contexts and disease samples. MEBOCOST is freely available at https://github.com/kaifuchenlab/MEBOCOST.

Indexed as

AlgorithmsCell CommunicationRNA-SeqSingle-Cell AnalysisAdipocytesAdipose Tissue, BrownAdipose Tissue, WhiteAnimalsCell DifferentiationHumansMacrophagesMetabolic Flux AnalysisMiceObesitySingle-Cell Gene Expression AnalysisSoftware

Identifiers

PMID40568942
PMCPMC12199156

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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 Socratic graph.