A Cross-scale Causal Machine Learning Framework Pinpoints Mgl2+ Macrophage Orchestrators of Balanced Arterial Growth
Abstract Body (Do not enter title and authors here): Postnatal development requires precise coordination across molecular, cellular and tissue scales. However, existing methods often fail to resolve the causal hierarchies that underlie this coordination. Transcriptome-wide studies can identify trait-associated genes but cannot predict how gene expression changes propagate through gene–cell–tissue networks. Here, we present CausaLink, a cross-scale causal mapping framework that reconstructs directed networks by integrating transcriptomic and tissue biomechanical data. We applied it to the postnatal pulmonary arterial tissue remodeling, where a surge in arterial flow triggers conversion of low-flow conduits into high-flow conduits. Longitudinal single-cell and bulk transcriptomic profiling of proximal pulmonary artery (P2-P84) mapped dynamic vascular lineage transitions. Our analysis suggested a bifurcation of shared fibroblast–smooth muscle progenitor in the neonatal phase, initiating downstream shifts at both the cellular and tissue levels. In this context, CausaLink identified Mgl2+ macrophages as central regulators of balanced artery growth. Network-based, multi-trait simulation predicted Mgl2+ macrophages promote lumen expansion while preventing pathological wall thinning or thickening. We validated these predictions in a human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived arterial assembloid populated with MGLhigh macrophages. In this model, MGLhigh macrophages drove fibroblast expansion and coordinated tissue growth, as predicted. CausaLink enables systemic prediction across biological scales and offers a data-driven approach for therapeutic design in diseases involving disrupted tissue homeostasis.
Han, Jonghyeuk
( Emory University
, Atlanta
, Georgia
, United States
)
Kong, Dasom
( Ajou University
, Suwon
, Korea (the Republic of)
)
Schwarz, Erica
( Yale University
, New Haven
, Connecticut
, United States
)
Takaesu, Felipe
( Emory University
, Atlanta
, Georgia
, United States
)
Humphrey, Jay
( Yale University
, New Haven
, Connecticut
, United States
)
Park, Hyun-ji
( Ajou University
, Suwon
, Korea (the Republic of)
)
Davis, Michael E
( Emory University
, Atlanta
, Georgia
, United States
)
Author Disclosures:
Jonghyeuk Han:DO NOT have relevant financial relationships
| Dasom Kong:No Answer
| Erica Schwarz:No Answer
| Felipe Takaesu:DO NOT have relevant financial relationships
| Jay Humphrey:No Answer
| Hyun-Ji Park:No Answer
| Michael E Davis:No Answer