filter_immundata: Keep selected rows or receptors in ImmunData

In immundata: A Unified Data Layer for Large-Scale Single-Cell, Spatial and Bulk Immunomics

Keep selected rows or receptors in ImmunData

Description

Use filter() to keep selected rows in an ImmunData object. For example, you can keep rows from one response group, rows using a selected V gene, or receptors containing a CDR3 sequence similar to a reference sequence.

The function returns a new ImmunData object. The original object is not changed.

This function is a direct implementation of dplyr::filter. Alternative function name is filter_immundata.

Use filter_barcodes() to keep selected cell barcodes and filter_receptors() to keep selected receptor identifiers.

Usage

filter_immundata(idata, ..., seq_options = NULL, keep_repertoires = TRUE)

## S3 method for class 'ImmunData'
filter(
  .data,
  ...,
  .by = NULL,
  .preserve = FALSE,
  seq_options = NULL,
  keep_repertoires = TRUE
)

filter_barcodes(idata, barcodes, keep_repertoires = TRUE)

filter_receptors(idata, receptors, keep_repertoires = TRUE)

Arguments

idata, .data	An ImmunData object.
...	One or more conditions used to keep rows. Refer to annotation columns directly by name. Multiple conditions are combined with &. Conditions are applied before sequence matching.
seq_options	Options for matching sequences with reference sequences or patterns. Create these options with make_seq_options(). If NULL, the default, no sequence matching is performed.
keep_repertoires	If TRUE, the default, existing repertoire and strata summaries are recalculated from the filtered data. If FALSE, the returned object does not contain these summaries.
.by, .preserve	Accepted for compatibility with dplyr::filter(), but currently not used for ImmunData objects.
barcodes	A character, integer, or numeric vector of cell barcodes to keep with filter_barcodes().
receptors	A character, integer, or numeric vector of receptor identifiers to keep with filter_receptors().

Details

You can filter an ImmunData object in three ways:

• Supply conditions in ... to filter using annotation columns. Refer to columns directly by name. For example, Response == "FR" keeps rows from the FR response group.

• Supply seq_options, created with make_seq_options(), to find receptors containing a sequence that matches one or more reference sequences or patterns.

• Use filter_barcodes() or filter_receptors() when you already have the identifiers that you want to keep.

Conditions in ... are applied before sequence matching. Sequence matching then identifies receptors from the remaining rows. When one chain matches, all remaining chains belonging to the same receptor are kept. A chain removed by a condition in ... is not added back by sequence matching.

Sequence matching methods are:

• "exact": the sequence must be identical to one of the references.

• "regex": the sequence must match a regular-expression pattern. This is an advanced option for matching text patterns.

• "lev": the Levenshtein distance counts the substitutions, insertions, or deletions needed to change one sequence into the other.

• "hamm": the Hamming distance counts different positions between sequences of the same length. Sequences of different lengths do not match.

For "lev" and "hamm", provide max_dist. A sequence is accepted when its distance from at least one reference is less than or equal to this value. A distance of 0 means an exact match, and smaller values mean more similar sequences.

By default, existing repertoire summaries are recalculated from the filtered data. Existing strata are also rebuilt, and their labels are retained. Set keep_repertoires = FALSE to return an object without repertoire or strata summaries.

Value

A new ImmunData object containing the selected rows and receptors. If requested, repertoire and strata summaries are recalculated for the selected data.

See Also

dplyr::filter(), make_seq_options(), mutate_immundata(), agg_repertoires(), ImmunData

Examples

library(immundata)
library(dplyr)

options(immundata.verbose = FALSE)

# Load data included with immundata
idata <- get_test_idata()

# Keep rows from one response group
fr_response <- idata |>
  filter(Response == "FR")

fr_response |>
  collect() |>
  summarise(
    n_rows = n(),
    n_receptors = n_distinct(imd_receptor_id)
  )
# Expected result:
#   n_rows n_receptors
#      955         871

# Keep receptors containing one reference CDR3 sequence
reference_cdr3 <- "ASFPVLSPYNEQF"

exact_match <- idata |>
  filter(
    seq_options = make_seq_options(
      query_col = "cdr3_aa",
      patterns = reference_cdr3,
      method = "exact"
    )
  )

exact_match |>
  collect() |>
  select(cdr3_aa, v_call, Response)
# Expected result:
#   cdr3_aa       v_call    Response
#   ASFPVLSPYNEQF TRBV28*01 FR

# Keep receptors within four sequence changes of the reference
similar_sequences <- idata |>
  filter(
    seq_options = make_seq_options(
      query_col = "cdr3_aa",
      patterns = reference_cdr3,
      method = "lev",
      max_dist = 4
    )
  )

similar_sequences |>
  collect() |>
  distinct(cdr3_aa) |>
  arrange(cdr3_aa)
# Expected result:
#   cdr3_aa
#   ASFPVLSPYNEQF
#   ASSPDSPSYNEQF
#   ASSPGLAAYNEQF
#   ASSPTLYNEQF

# Keep two selected cell barcodes
selected_barcodes <- c("S1_1", "S1_2")

selected_cells <- idata |>
  filter_barcodes(selected_barcodes)

selected_cells |>
  collect() |>
  distinct(imd_barcode)
# Expected result:
#   imd_barcode
#   S1_1
#   S1_2

# The same approach can keep selected receptor identifiers
selected_receptors <- idata |>
  collect() |>
  distinct(imd_receptor_id) |>
  slice_head(n = 2) |>
  pull(imd_receptor_id)

selected_receptors_data <- idata |>
  filter_receptors(selected_receptors)

immundata documentation built on Aug. 26, 2026, 5:08 p.m.