Genomics-informed approach identifies which cell types regulate the metabolome

<h4>Motivation</h4>Metabolism occurs in a cell type-specific manner, but which cells regulate metabolite levels remains unclear.<h4>Results</h4>Here, we integrate some of the largest metabolite quantitative trait loci datasets, TOPMed and UK Biobank, with one of the most extensive single-cell RNA sequencing resources, Tabula Sapiens. This integration allows us to identify cell types that regulate metabolites body-wide. We find hepatocytes are the primary regulatory cell type for most metabolites, associating with 385/410 (94%) metabolites for whom an association is found. Additionally, our multi-gene approach reveals more metabolite associations with beta cells compared to those identified using a single-gene approach. For example, we identify novel metabolite-cell type associations, such as the association between phenylpropanoic acid and beta cells, this metabolite that was previously thought to be regulated by the microbiome.<h4>Availability</h4>Code used in this work is available via Github at https://github.com/haimkru/Metabolite-Cell-Type-Associations.