---
id: grn-pyscenic
name: Gene Regulatory Network Inference (pySCENIC)
category: transcriptomics
short-description: Infer transcription factor regulatory networks and cell-level TF activity from single-cell RNA-seq data.
detailed-description: Discover gene regulatory networks (GRNs) de novo from single-cell RNA-seq using pySCENIC. Identifies transcription factor (TF) regulons through co-expression analysis (GRNBoost2), validates with motif enrichment (cisTarget), and calculates cell-level TF activity scores (AUCell). Use when you need to discover TF-target relationships directly from your data, identify cell-type-specific regulatory programs, or score individual cells for TF activity. Requires 500+ cells for robust inference. Not recommended for bulk RNA-seq (use functional enrichment or curated network approaches instead). Computationally intensive, requires reference databases and 16GB+ RAM.
starting-prompt: Infer gene regulatory networks and TF activity from my single-cell RNA-seq data . . 
---

# Gene Regulatory Network Inference (pySCENIC)

Infer gene regulatory networks (GRNs) de novo from single-cell RNA-seq data using pySCENIC. This workflow discovers transcription factor (TF) regulons directly from expression patterns and calculates cell-level TF activity scores.

## When to Use This Skill

Use pySCENIC GRN inference when you need to:
- ✅ **Discover TF-target relationships** de novo from single-cell RNA-seq data
- ✅ **Calculate cell-level TF activity** scores for regulatory programs
- ✅ **Identify cell-type-specific** transcriptional programs
- ✅ **Find key regulators** driving cell state transitions or differentiation
- ✅ **Compare regulatory programs** across conditions, tissues, or species

**Don't use this skill for:**
- ❌ Bulk RNA-seq with few samples → Use functional-enrichment-from-degs or tf-activity workflows
- ❌ Quick TF activity from DE results → Use curated network approaches (faster, less computational)
- ❌ <500 cells → Insufficient for robust GRN inference
- ❌ Limited computational resources → Requires 16GB+ RAM, several hours runtime

**Key Concept:** Unlike curated network approaches, pySCENIC infers TF-target relationships directly from your data using co-expression analysis, then validates them using motif enrichment in cis-regulatory regions.

**The SCENIC Pipeline:**
1. **GRN Inference (GRNBoost2)**: Identify co-expression modules linking TFs to potential target genes
2. **Regulon Prediction (cisTarget)**: Prune targets to those with TF binding motifs in promoters
3. **Cell Activity Scoring (AUCell)**: Score each cell for regulon activity

## Quick Start

**Fastest way to test the workflow (~10-15 minutes):**

```python
# Step 1: Load example PBMC data (500 cells)
from load_example_data import load_pbmc3k_example
adata, ex_matrix = load_pbmc3k_example(preprocess=True, subsample=500)

# Step 2: Run complete GRN workflow
from run_grn_workflow import run_complete_grn_workflow
results = run_complete_grn_workflow(
    ex_matrix=ex_matrix,
    tf_list_file="pyscenic_databases/allTFs_hg38.txt",
    database_glob="pyscenic_databases/*.feather",
    motif_annotations_file="pyscenic_databases/motifs-v10nr_clust-nr.hgnc-m0.001-o0.0.tbl",
    output_dir="scenic_test_results",
    n_workers=4
)

# Step 3: Visualize and export
from integrate_with_adata import integrate_with_adata
from plot_regulon_visualizations import generate_all_visualizations
from export_all import export_all

adata = integrate_with_adata(adata, results['auc_matrix'], results['regulons'])
generate_all_visualizations(results['auc_matrix'], results['regulons'], adata,
                            output_dir="scenic_test_results/plots")
export_all(results['regulons'], results['auc_matrix'], results['auc_summary'],
           results['adjacencies'], output_dir="scenic_test_results")
```

**Expected output:** 20-40 regulons, 13 output files (CSVs, plots, integrated H5AD)

**Note:** Requires databases to be downloaded first (see Installation → Reference Databases section).

## Installation

### Required Software

| Software | Version | License | Commercial Use | Installation |
|----------|---------|---------|----------------|--------------|
| pySCENIC | ≥0.12.0 | GPL-3.0 | ✅ Permitted | `pip install pyscenic` |
| arboreto | ≥0.1.6 | BSD-3-Clause | ✅ Permitted | Installed with pySCENIC |
| ctxcore | ≥0.2.0 | GPL-3.0 | ✅ Permitted | Installed with pySCENIC |
| scanpy | ≥1.9 | BSD-3-Clause | ✅ Permitted | `pip install scanpy` |
| pandas | ≥1.3 | BSD-3-Clause | ✅ Permitted | `pip install pandas` |
| numpy | ≥1.20 | BSD-3-Clause | ✅ Permitted | `pip install numpy` |
| loompy | ≥3.0 | BSD-3-Clause | ✅ Permitted | `pip install loompy` |
| networkx | ≥2.6 | BSD-3-Clause | ✅ Permitted | `pip install networkx` |
| seaborn | ≥0.11 | BSD-3-Clause | ✅ Permitted | `pip install seaborn` |
| matplotlib | ≥3.4 | PSF-based | ✅ Permitted | `pip install matplotlib` |
| reportlab | ≥3.6 | BSD | ✅ Permitted | `pip install reportlab` |

**Minimum Python version:** Python ≥3.8

**Quick install:**
```bash
pip install pyscenic scanpy pandas numpy loompy networkx seaborn matplotlib reportlab
```

**Note:** pySCENIC automatically installs arboreto (for GRNBoost2) and ctxcore (for cisTarget) as dependencies.

### Reference Databases (Required)

Download species-specific databases from [SCENIC resources](https://resources.aertslab.org/cistarget/):

**For human (hg38):**
```bash
wget https://resources.aertslab.org/cistarget/databases/homo_sapiens/hg38/refseq_r80/mc_v10_clust/gene_based/hg38_10kbp_up_10kbp_down_full_tx_v10_clust.genes_vs_motifs.rankings.feather
wget https://resources.aertslab.org/cistarget/motif2tf/motifs-v10nr_clust-nr.hgnc-m0.001-o0.0.tbl
wget https://resources.aertslab.org/cistarget/tf_lists/allTFs_hg38.txt
```

**For other species:** See [references/database_downloads.md](references/database_downloads.md)

**Database requirements:**
- Motif ranking database (.feather format, ~1-2GB)
- Motif annotation file (.tbl format)
- TF list for your species

## Inputs

### Required Input

1. **Single-cell expression matrix** (one of):
   - AnnData object (.h5ad) with raw or normalized counts
   - Loom file (.loom)
   - CSV/TSV matrix (genes × cells)

2. **Reference databases** (downloaded from SCENIC resources):
   - Motif ranking database (e.g., `hg38_10kbp_up_10kbp_down_full_tx_v10_clust.genes_vs_motifs.rankings.feather`)
   - Motif annotation file (e.g., `motifs-v10nr_clust-nr.hgnc-m0.001-o0.0.tbl`)
   - TF list (e.g., `allTFs_hg38.txt`)

### Data Requirements

- **Minimum cells**: 500 (1,000+ recommended for robust GRN inference)
- **Minimum genes**: 2,000+ expressed genes
- **Memory**: 16GB+ RAM (more for large datasets)
- **Runtime**: 1-4 hours depending on dataset size
- **QC**: Apply basic quality filtering before SCENIC (remove low-quality cells/genes)

## Outputs

### Files Generated

**Analysis objects (Pickle):**
- `regulons.pkl` - Regulon objects for downstream analysis
  - Load with: `regulons = pickle.load(open('regulons.pkl', 'rb'))`
  - Required for: Downstream TF activity analysis, network visualization
- `auc_matrix.pkl` - AUCell activity matrix (cells × regulons)
  - Load with: `auc_matrix = pickle.load(open('auc_matrix.pkl', 'rb'))`

**Results (CSV):**
- `adjacencies.csv` - Raw TF-target co-expression (GRNBoost2 output)
- `regulons.csv` - Final TF-target relationships after motif pruning
- `aucell_matrix.csv` - Cell × Regulon activity scores (values 0-1)
- `aucell_summary.csv` - Per-regulon statistics
- `scenic_regulon_summary.csv` - Comprehensive regulon summary

**Integrated data:**
- `adata_with_scenic.h5ad` - AnnData with integrated regulon activities

**Visualizations (PNG + SVG):**
- `regulon_heatmap.png/.svg` - Top regulons by variance
- `regulon_network.png/.svg` - TF-target network visualization

**Reports:**
- `scenic_report.md` - Analysis summary with top regulons
- `scenic_analysis_report.pdf` - Publication-quality PDF with Introduction, Methods, Results (embedded figures), Conclusions
  - Requires: `pip install reportlab` (optional — markdown report generated regardless)

## Clarification Questions

**Before running, confirm:**

1. **Input Files** (ASK THIS FIRST):
   - Do you have single-cell RNA-seq data to analyze?
   - If uploaded: Is this the .h5ad/.loom/matrix file you'd like to use?
   - Expected formats: AnnData (.h5ad), Loom (.loom), CSV/TSV matrix
   - **Or use example/demo data?** Use `load_example_data.py` for PBMC 3k (~2,700 cells, 30-45 min test)

2. **Species?**
   - Human (hg38) - most common, databases readily available
   - Mouse (mm10) - databases available
   - Other species - check database availability first

3. **Dataset size?**
   - 500-2,000 cells → Minimum viable, ~1-2 hours
   - 2,000-10,000 cells → Good, ~2-3 hours
   - 10,000+ cells → Excellent, may need subsampling, 3-4 hours

4. **Do you have the cisTarget databases downloaded?**
   - Yes → Provide paths to .feather, .tbl, and TF list files
   - No → Will download during setup (~2-3GB, 10-15 min)

5. **What outputs do you need?**
   - Regulons only (TF-target relationships)
   - AUCell scores (cell-level TF activity)
   - Both with visualizations (recommended)

## Standard Workflow

> **Note:** Run from the OmicsClaw root directory and add the workflow scripts to `sys.path`:
> ```python
> import sys; import os; sys.path.insert(0, os.path.abspath('knowledge_base/scripts/grn-pyscenic'))
> ```

🚨 **MANDATORY: USE SCRIPTS EXACTLY AS SHOWN - DO NOT WRITE INLINE CODE** 🚨

**Step 1 - Load data and run GRN inference:**
```python
# Load expression data
# Option A: Load your own data
from load_expression_data import load_expression_data
adata, ex_matrix = load_expression_data("scrnaseq_data.h5ad")

# Option B: Load example PBMC 3k data for testing
# from load_example_data import load_pbmc3k_example
# adata, ex_matrix = load_pbmc3k_example()

# Run GRN inference with GRNBoost2
from run_grn_workflow import run_complete_grn_workflow
results = run_complete_grn_workflow(
    ex_matrix=ex_matrix,
    tf_list_file="allTFs_hg38.txt",
    database_glob="pyscenic_databases/*.feather",
    motif_annotations_file="pyscenic_databases/motifs-v10nr_clust-nr.hgnc-m0.001-o0.0.tbl",
    output_dir="scenic_results"
)
```
**DO NOT write inline GRNBoost2, cisTarget, or AUCell code. Use the script.**

**✅ VERIFICATION:** You should see:
- `"✓ Data loaded successfully: X cells, Y genes"`
- `"✓ GRN inference completed: X TF-target pairs"`
- `"✓ cisTarget pruning completed: X regulons"`
- `"✓ AUCell scoring completed"`

**Step 2 - Integrate with AnnData:**
```python
from integrate_with_adata import integrate_with_adata
adata = integrate_with_adata(
    adata,
    results['auc_matrix'],
    results['regulons'],
    output_file="scenic_results/adata_with_scenic.h5ad"
)
```

**✅ VERIFICATION:** `"✓ Integration completed: regulon activities added to adata.obsm['X_aucell']"`

**Step 3 - Generate visualizations:**
```python
from plot_regulon_visualizations import generate_all_visualizations
generate_all_visualizations(
    results['auc_matrix'],
    results['regulons'],
    adata,
    top_n=20,
    output_dir="scenic_results/plots"
)
```
🚨 **DO NOT write inline plotting code (matplotlib, seaborn, etc.). Just use the script.** 🚨

**The script handles PNG + SVG export with graceful fallback.**

**✅ VERIFICATION:** `"✓ All visualizations generated successfully!"`

**Step 4 - Export results:**
```python
from export_all import export_all
export_all(
    regulons=results['regulons'],
    auc_matrix=results['auc_matrix'],
    auc_summary=results['auc_summary'],
    adjacencies=results['adjacencies'],
    output_dir="scenic_results"
)
```
**DO NOT write custom export code. Use export_all().**

**✅ VERIFICATION:** `"=== Export Complete ==="`
**Note:** If reportlab is installed, a PDF report (`scenic_analysis_report.pdf`) is also generated.

⚠️ **CRITICAL - DO NOT:**
- ❌ **Write inline GRNBoost2/cisTarget code** → **STOP: Use `run_complete_grn_workflow()`**
- ❌ **Write inline plotting code** → **STOP: Use `generate_all_visualizations()`**
- ❌ **Write custom export code** → **STOP: Use `export_all()`**
- ❌ **Try to install system dependencies** → Script checks availability

**⚠️ IF SCRIPTS FAIL - Script Failure Hierarchy:**
1. **Fix and Retry (90%)** - Install missing package, re-run script
2. **Modify Script (5%)** - Edit the script file itself, document changes
3. **Use as Reference (4%)** - Read script, adapt approach, cite source
4. **Write from Scratch (1%)** - Only if genuinely impossible, explain why

**NEVER skip directly to writing inline code without trying the script first.**

## Common Issues

| Error | Cause | Solution |
|-------|-------|----------|
| **Memory error during GRNBoost2** | Dataset too large | Subsample to 5,000-10,000 cells or filter to top 2,000-5,000 variable genes |
| **No regulons found** | TF names don't match gene symbols | Check TF list uses same nomenclature (HGNC/MGI); verify gene names in data |
| **cisTarget database error** | Wrong format or corrupted file | Re-download databases; ensure using Feather v2 format (.feather) |
| **Very slow GRN inference** | Too many genes or single-threaded | Filter to variable genes; increase `n_workers` parameter (4-8 recommended) |
| **AUCell scores all low** | Poor regulon quality or normalization | Check regulon sizes (need 10+ genes); verify input is normalized counts |
| **Database loading fails** | Path incorrect or file not found | Use absolute paths to databases; verify files exist |
| **SVG export error** | Missing optional dependency | **Normal - script falls back to PNG automatically. Both formats will be created.** |
| **NumPy AttributeError: np.object** | Incompatible NumPy version | **Install NumPy <1.24: `pip install 'numpy<1.24.0'` - pySCENIC 0.12.1 requires NumPy 1.20-1.23** |
| **TypeError: Must supply at least one delayed object** | Incompatible Dask version | **Install Dask 2023.5.0: `pip install 'dask[complete]==2023.5.0' 'distributed==2023.5.0'` and uninstall dask-expr if present** |

## Suggested Next Steps

After completing pySCENIC analysis:

1. **Identify key regulators**: Focus on high-variance regulons with cell-type-specific activity
2. **Validate regulons**: Compare with literature, ChIP-seq data, or perturbation experiments
3. **Downstream analysis**:
   - Differential regulon activity between conditions (Scanpy/Seurat)
   - Trajectory analysis with regulon dynamics (RNA velocity + SCENIC)
   - Integration with other modalities (ATAC-seq, ChIP-seq)
4. **Functional enrichment**: Analyze target genes of top regulons
5. **Network analysis**: Identify TF-TF interactions and regulatory hierarchies

## Related Skills

- **scrnaseq-scanpy-core-analysis** - Upstream: Single-cell preprocessing and clustering
- **scrnaseq-seurat-core-analysis** - Upstream: Alternative single-cell preprocessing (R)
- **functional-enrichment-from-degs** - Related: Pathway analysis of regulon targets
- **de-results-to-plots** - Related: Visualizing differential activity results

## References

- Aibar et al. (2017). SCENIC: single-cell regulatory network inference and clustering. *Nature Methods*. [doi:10.1038/nmeth.4463](https://doi.org/10.1038/nmeth.4463)
- Van de Sande et al. (2020). A scalable SCENIC workflow for single-cell gene regulatory network analysis. *Nature Protocols*. [doi:10.1038/s41596-020-0336-2](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41596-020-0336-2)
- Huynh-Thu et al. (2010). Inferring regulatory networks from expression data using tree-based methods. *PLoS ONE*. [doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0012776](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0012776)
- pySCENIC Documentation: https://pyscenic.readthedocs.io/
- SCENIC Resources: https://resources.aertslab.org/cistarget/