make_receptor_schema: Define which chain observations form the same receptor

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

Define which chain observations form the same receptor

Description

Use make_receptor_schema() to define a biological receptor from sequence features and one or two receptor chains.

Use this function when reading single-cell data with one selected chain, when pairing chains such as TRA-TRB, or when accepting alternative light chains such as IGK or IGL. The unit being defined is the receptor. Creating a schema does not change any data or an existing ImmunData object.

Usage

make_receptor_schema(features, chains = NULL)

assert_receptor_schema(schema)

test_receptor_schema(schema)

Arguments

features	A non-empty character vector. Column names containing the chain fields that must match, such as c("junction_aa", "v_call", "j_call"). Use names as they appear after any input-column renaming.
chains	A character vector of length one or two, or NULL. Use one value, such as "TRB", to keep one chain; two values, such as c("TRA", "TRB"), to define a strict pair; or the "IGK|IGL" syntax in the second value to accept either alternative. The default is NULL, which does not select loci.
schema	A non-empty character vector or receptor-schema list. An object to check. A schema created by make_receptor_schema() is accepted. A character vector supplies feature names for a chain-agnostic schema.

Value

make_receptor_schema() returns a list with character elements features and chains; chains is NULL when loci are not selected. assert_receptor_schema() returns TRUE for accepted input and otherwise stops with an error. test_receptor_schema() returns one logical value.

When observations are the same receptor

features names the fields that define chain identity. Common choices are the CDR3 amino acid sequence, V gene, and J gene. Two observations represent the same receptor only when the relevant chain loci and every selected feature match.

• With one chain, such as chains = "TRB", only that locus is used. Two TRB observations are the same receptor when all their selected feature values match.

• With a strict pair, such as chains = c("TRA", "TRB"), chains are first paired within each cell barcode. Receptors from two cells are the same only when every selected TRA feature and every selected TRB feature match.

• With an alternative second chain, such as chains = c("IGH", "IGK|IGL"), each receptor must contain IGH and exactly one of IGK or IGL. Cells containing both IGK and IGL are excluded. The light-chain locus and all selected heavy- and light-chain features must match for two observations to be the same receptor.

A barcode determines which chains belong to the same cell; it does not by itself define receptor identity across cells. During single-cell import, read_repertoires() uses umi_col to choose one chain when a cell contains several observations from the same locus.

Use chains = NULL for chain-agnostic bulk or pre-filtered data. In that case, only the values in features define receptor identity.

Validate a schema

assert_receptor_schema() stops with an error if schema is not accepted. Use it inside another function when invalid input must stop the calculation. test_receptor_schema() returns one TRUE or FALSE value and is useful in conditional code.

Backend and storage

A receptor schema is a small R list containing features and chains. It stores no sequence data. read_repertoires() and agg_receptors() apply the schema to chain observations using duckplyr.

See Also

read_repertoires(), agg_receptors(), imd_schema()

Examples

# Single-chain TCR: compare TRB observations by CDR3, V gene, and J gene.
trb_schema <- make_receptor_schema(
  features = c("junction_aa", "v_call", "j_call"),
  chains = "TRB"
)
trb_schema
# Expected result:
#   $features: "junction_aa" "v_call" "j_call"
#   $chains:   "TRB"

# Paired alpha-beta TCR: all selected fields must match on both TRA and TRB.
ab_tcr_schema <- make_receptor_schema(
  features = c("junction_aa", "v_call", "j_call"),
  chains = c("TRA", "TRB")
)
ab_tcr_schema
# The result defines one receptor as a matched TRA-TRB pair from one cell.

# BCR: require IGH and accept either an IGK or IGL light chain.
bcr_schema <- make_receptor_schema(
  features = c("junction_aa", "v_call", "j_call"),
  chains = c("IGH", "IGK|IGL")
)
bcr_schema
# The result accepts IGH-IGK and IGH-IGL receptors, while keeping the two
# light-chain loci biologically distinct.

test_receptor_schema(bcr_schema)
# Expected result: TRUE

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