Machine Learning Classifies Ferroptosis and Apoptosis Cell Death Modalities with TfR1 Immunostaining

ACS Chem Biol. 2022 Mar 18;17(3):654-660. doi: 10.1021/acschembio.1c00953. Epub 2022 Mar 1.

Abstract

Determining cell death mechanisms occurring in patient and animal tissues is a longstanding goal that requires suitable biomarkers and accurate quantification. However, effective methods remain elusive. To develop more powerful and unbiased analytic frameworks, we developed a machine learning approach for automated cell death classification. Image sets were collected of HT-1080 fibrosarcoma cells undergoing ferroptosis or apoptosis and stained with an anti-transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1) antibody, together with nuclear and F-actin staining. Features were extracted using high-content-analysis software, and a classifier was constructed by fitting a multinomial logistic lasso regression model to the data. The prediction accuracy of the classifier within three classes (control, ferroptosis, apoptosis) was 93%. Thus, TfR1 staining, combined with nuclear and F-actin staining, can reliably detect both apoptotic and ferroptotis cells when cell features are analyzed in an unbiased manner using machine learning, providing a method for unbiased analysis of modes of cell death.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Actins
  • Apoptosis
  • Biomarkers
  • Ferroptosis*
  • Humans
  • Machine Learning
  • Receptors, Transferrin*

Substances

  • Actins
  • Biomarkers
  • Receptors, Transferrin