Work

uHAF: a unified hierarchical annotation framework for cell type standardization and harmonization

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: SUMMARY: In single-cell transcriptomics, inconsistent cell type annotations due to varied naming conventions and hierarchical granularity impede data integration, machine learning applications, and meaningful evaluations. To address this challenge, we developed the unified Hierarchical Annotation Framework (uHAF), which includes organ-specific hierarchical cell type trees (uHAF-T) and a mapping tool (uHAF-Agent) based on large language models. uHAF-T provides standardized hierarchical references for 38 organs, allowing for consistent label unification and analysis at different levels of granularity. uHAF-Agent leverages GPT-4 to accurately map diverse and informal cell type labels onto uHAF-T nodes, streamlining the harmonization process. By simplifying label unification, uHAF enhances data integration, supports machine learning applications, and enables biologically meaningful evaluations of annotation methods. Our framework serves as an essential resource for standardizing cell type annotations and fostering collaborative refinement in the single-cell research community. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: uHAF is publicly available at: https://uhaf.unifiedcellatlas.org and https://github.com/SuperBianC/uhaf.

Source: Bioinformatics

DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btaf149

Authors: Haiyang Bian, Yinxin Chen, Lei Wei, Xuegong Zhang

Institutions: Beijing National Research Center for Information Science and Technology, Tsinghua University

Language: English

Topic: Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics

Subfield: Molecular Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,989

Funders: National Natural Science Foundation of China, National Key Research and Development Program of China, Tsinghua-Fuzhou Institute for Data Technology