Tool maps spatial cell-cell signals in brain aging and cancer
Applied to over 5.8 million spatially profiled cells, the framework identified a T-cell-associated brain-aging program and signals that predicted age across regions.
bioRxiv
In spatially profiled tissue cells, researchers developed SpiderNet, a computational framework that identifies directed cell-cell communication programs from spatial transcriptomics data. The model determines sender regulators, ligand-receptor pairs, and receiver targets defining meta-interactions across neighboring cells. In a preprint analyzing over 5.8 million cells, SpiderNet identified a T-cell-associated brain-aging program and age-predictive signals that transferred across brain regions and profiling platforms. In cancer datasets, the tool resolved an SPP1-THBS relay in ovarian cancer, predicted T-cell responses to perturbations in melanoma cells, and identified a recurrent pan-cancer fibroblast-tumor program associated with poorer survival and immunotherapy non-response.
Why it matters
Mapping localized multicellular communication could help researchers trace how cellular relays change during brain aging and identify signals linked to age-related tissue decline.
Caveats
The findings rely on computational modeling of spatial transcriptomic data rather than direct functional tests of cell signaling. The work is also a preprint that has not yet undergone peer review.
The paper
A meta-interaction basis for cell-cell communication in tissues
Carnegie Mellon University
bioRxiv · 27 Sep 2026 · Preprint, not peer-reviewed
