Spatial Dependence and Heterogeneity in Molecular Imaging: Moran Quadrant Maps Enable Advanced Spatial-Statistical Analysis
Year: 2025
Type: preprint
Abstract: Multiplexed molecular imaging, such as imaging mass spectrometry, provides spatially-contextualized insights that are transforming biomedical research by advancing our understanding of tissue organization and disease mechanisms. However, the spatial-statistical properties of molecular imaging data are often underutilized, and scalable computational tools to analyze them are lacking. Here, we demonstrate how local and global spatial autocorrelation (SAC) metrics can be used to quantify spatial dependence and spatial heterogeneity, properties that violate the common assumption of independent and identically distributed measurements. We develop mathematically rigorous methods for SAC-based exploratory analysis. Furthermore, we introduce a novel spatial feature extractor, the Moran quadrant map, and develop two advanced workflows based on it: Moran-Felsenszwalb segmentation for tissue domain segmentation and Moran-HOG clustering for colocalization-based image analysis. Finally, our open-source Moran Imaging toolbox (https://github.com/vandeplaslab/Moran_Imaging) provides scalable Python implementations, including a novel parallelized spatial lag algorithm, unlocking SAC-based analyses and biological insights for large-scale imaging.
Language: English
Subfield: Economics and Econometrics
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: G1033138463, Vanderbilt University Biomolecular Multimodal Imaging Center for 3-Dimensional Tissue Mapping, G2280314020, Biomolecular Multimodal Imaging Center: 3-Dimensional Tissue Mapping of the Human Pancreas and Eye, Defining the impact of host factors on the molecular architecture and bacterial physiology of Staphylococcus aureus abscesses, STAT3 activation in astrocytes as a driver of neurovascular dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, Vanderbilt Interdisciplinary Training Program in Alzheimer's Disease, A Multimodal 3D Atlas of Colorectal Cancer Across Ages of Onset, Vanderbilt University Biomolecular Multimodal Imaging Center for 3-Dimensional Mapping of the Human Kidney, Molecular mapping of microbial communities at the host-pathogen interface by multi-modal 3-dimensional imaging mass spectrometry, Elucidating Molecular Drivers of Aging and Alzheimer's Disease via Multimodal Imaging Mass Spectrometry, Multimodal Imaging Mass Spectrometry and Spatial Omics for the Human Kidney, Perivascular fibroblasts, vascular fibrosis, and their contributions to cerebral amyloid angiopathy
OpenAlex ID: W4415626572