We are happy to share our new paper in Nucleic Acids Research!
"Boolean logic links chromatin accessibility states to gene expression variability across cell types"
We developed ocrRBBR, a computational framework that decodes combinatorial cis-regulatory logic from paired ATAC-RNA data. Instead of simple correlations, ocrRBBR infers interpretable Boolean rules like:
(¬OCR_A ∧ OCR_B) or (OCR_A ∧ OCR_B)
These rules capture everything from synergistic enhancer interactions to redundant/additive logic, explaining how OCR combinations drive cell-type-specific gene expression.
Key findings:
- Cell-type-specific genes rely on selective Boolean rules integrating signals from more OCRs (including distal enhancers)
- Housekeeping genes use simpler, modular rules with fewer OCRs
- Cell-type-specific rules enrich for lineage-defining pathways
- This provides a mechanistically interpretable framework linking chromatin accessibility to gene regulation!
Full paper link:
https://academic.oup.com/nar/article/54/6/gkag230/8558641
Forwarded fromAmir Malekpour
Oup
Boolean logic links chromatin accessibility states to gene expression variability across cell types Open Access
Nucleic Acids Research, Volume 54, Issue 6, 13 April 2026, gkag230, https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkag230
April 21, 2026 1.4K 3
