DeCure's autonomous Respiratory AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for bacterial pneumonia — screening already-approved drugs against its 13-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleBacterial pneumonia maps to a 13-gene Open Targets module — the target space DeCure's AI scientist screens approved drugs against.
DeCure.ai methodSignature reversal (LINCS) plus network proximity (STRING) rank already-approved drugs likely to perturb this module — the same engine that produces DeCure.ai's repurposing hypotheses.
Repurposing thesisScreening approved medicines against this disease module, then publishing the evidence for the strongest candidate. Known pharmacology and human exposure data make the first question sharper — they do not establish safety or efficacy in a new indication.
Research record
01
ResearchComing soon
Candidate research + dossier — target rationale, drug-repurposing thesis and evidence pack.proof: Published dossier + on-chain hash
02
ValidationComing soon
In-vitro biological validation at a contract research org (CRO).proof: CRO contract + in-vitro report
03
Peer review & paperComing soon
Peer-reviewed paper published open-access (preprint + journal).proof: DOI + open-access link + on-chain hash
Current lead
No approved-drug candidate for bacterial pneumonia is corroborated in the literature DeepSearch retrieved. Some conditions are managed with non-pharmacological care — a device, surgery or physical therapy — rather than a medicine; that may be the case here, or the literature we found may simply be too sparse yet to support a drug-repurposing angle.
Molecular view
proteasome 20S subunit alpha 4 (PSMA4) — PSMA4 is one of the genes genetically linked to this disease in Open Targets — shown as context, not as a drug target we're pursuing: no approved-drug candidate for this disease is yet corroborated in the literature we found.
Loading structure…
helix sheet 1~{r}drag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 5LF4 · 1.99 Å · ligand [(1~{R})-3-methyl-1-[[(2~{S},3~{S})-3-oxidanyl-2-[(6-phenylpyridin-2-yl)carbonylamino]butanoyl]amino]butyl]boronic acid (6V7). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
In a 2011 mouse study of pneumococcal pneumonia, kinase activity profiling identified cascades of activated kinases and pointed to a reduction in WNT activity and an overall reduction in CDK activity in the lungs of infected animals. The authors concluded that these signalling events might assist in identifying novel therapeutic targets, but no drug was tested and no clinical data were produced.
A 2009 review of paediatric community-acquired bacterial pneumonia noted that diagnosis is elusive and treatment options are not always clear, but that appropriate management with available antibiotics provides a rapid cure to most cases. No experimental therapy was evaluated.
A 2024 mouse study of Pseudomonas aeruginosa pneumonia tested ambroxol combined with loquat syrup. Compared with either drug alone, the combination significantly increased saliva volume and bacterial content in saliva while reducing bacterial burden in the lungs (p < 0.05). The combination also reduced lung injury, improved lung permeability, decreased inflammatory cell infiltration, and lowered inflammatory cytokine expression. The study used only mice, and the sample size is not stated in the abstract.
A 2023 review of cigarette smoking and bacterial pneumonia reported that smoking worsens disease severity, increases rates of hospitalisation and intensive care admission, and raises mortality, but noted contradictions in the available studies. No treatment was tested.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
PLoS ONE · 2011 · 16 citations · open access
Kinase Activity Profiling of Pneumococcal Pneumonia
AbstractBACKGROUND: Pneumonia represents a major health burden. Previous work demonstrated that although the induction of inflammation is important for adequate host defense against pneumonia, an inability to regulate the host's inflammatory response within the lung later during infection can be detrimental. Intracellular signaling pathways commonly rely on activation of kinases, and kinases play an essential role in the regulation of the inflammatory response of immune cells. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Pneumonia was induced in mice via intranasal instillation of Streptococcus (S.) pneumoniae. Kinomics peptide arrays, exhibiting 1024 specific consensus sequences for protein kinases, were used to produce a systems biology analysis of cellular kinase activity during the course of pneumonia. Several differences in kinase activity revealed by the arrays were validated in lung homogenates of individual mice using western blot. We identified cascades of activated kinases showing that chemotoxic stress and a T helper 1 response were induced during the course of pneumococcal pneumonia. In addition, our data point to a reduction in WNT activity in lungs of S. pneumoniae infected mice. Moreover, this study demonstrated a reduction in overall CDK activity implying alterations in cell cycle biology. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This study utilizes systems biology to provide insight into the signaling events occurring during lung infection with the common cause of community acquired pneumonia, and may assist in identifying novel therapeutic targets in the treatment of bacterial pneumonia.
Antibiotic Treatment of Pediatric Community-Acquired Lower Respiratory Tract Infections: Challenges and Possible Solutions
AbstractBacterial pneumonia presents a real challenge in childhood, since its morbidity is impressive, its diagnosis is elusive and the treatment options are not always clear. Despite these difficulties, appropriate management based on an individual approach, good clinical skills and available antibiotics provides a rapid cure to most cases. The problems in diagnosis and treatment as well as the therapeutic approach to childhood bacterial pneumonia are discussed.
Journal of Inflammation Research · 2024 · 1 citations · open access
Efficacy of Ambroxol Combined with Loquat Syrup on Bacterial Pneumonia in Mice
AbstractPurpose: Bacterial pneumonia is a prevalent respiratory disease and a primary cause of death among hospitalized patients. Ambroxol and loquat syrup are widely utilized pharmaceuticals for managing respiratory infections in China. This study investigates the potential application and efficacy of combining ambroxol with loquat syrup for treating bacterial pneumonia. Methods: In this study, mice with P. aeruginosa-induced bacterial pneumonia were used to evaluate the therapeutic effects of ambroxol, loquat syrup, and their combination. A bacterial plate coating assay was performed to measure the P. aeruginosa content in saliva, lung tissue, and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). A plate colony counting assay was conducted to assess the antibacterial activity of ambroxol and loquat syrup. Serum, BALF, and lung tissues were analyzed using qPCR, ELISA, immunohistochemistry, and hematoxylin-eosin staining to evaluate disease severity. Results: In this study, the experimental results demonstrate that, compared to treatment with ambroxol and/or loquat syrup alone, the combined administration of ambroxol and loquat syrup significantly increases the volume of saliva expectorated by mice infected with bacteria, concurrently augmenting bacterial presence in saliva while diminishing bacterial burden in the lungs, with significant differences observed ( p < 0.05). Furthermore, the combined therapy of ambroxol and loquat syrup achieved better therapeutic effects on P. aeruginosa pneumonia compared to ambroxol and/or loquat syrup alone ( p < 0.05), as evidenced by significantly reduced P. aeruginosa-induced lung injury, improved lung permeability, decreased inflammatory cell infiltration, and lower expression of inflammatory cytokines. Conclusion: These findings suggest that the combination therapy of ambroxol and loquat syrup presents a safe and feasible new treatment strategy for bacterial pneumonia, offering promising benefits for ameliorating lung tissue damage and inflammation. Keywords: bacterial pneumonia, ambroxol, loquat syrup, combination therapy, inflammation, treatment strategy
Tobacco and Health · 2023 · 0 citations · open access
Effect of Cigarette Smoking on Bacterial Infections: A Review Study
AbstractBackground: In spite of great advances in the prevention of bacterial infections, they are still considered the most common reason for mortality worldwide. In accordance with the data from the World Health Organization (WHO), around 15% of pediatric mortality was caused by bacterial infections in 2017. Since cigarette smoke can cause serious damage to organs such as the respiratory system and weakening of the immune system, the aim of the present review study was to investigate the effects of cigarette smoking on various bacterial pneumonia. Methods: The present review study was performed on 90 articles obtained through searching in ScienceDirect, Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar using keywords such as bacterial pneumonia, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Haemophilus, Pseudomonas, Legionella, Mycoplasma, Chlamydia, tuberculosis, and cigarette. Results: Different results of previous studies indicated that given the detrimental effect of cigarettes on the respiratory and immune system of individuals, cigarette smoking affects the prognosis and outcome of infectious diseases. Disease severity, requiring hospitalization at both general and intensive care units, and mortality rate vary across these patients, thereby challenging the treatment. Thus, the cessation of cigarette smoking may help improve the respiratory system function. Conclusion: Given contradictions in the results of previous studies, exposure to cigarette smoke affects the respiratory system and increases the severity of bacterial pneumonia.
Disease module: DeepOracle (Open Targets). Structures: RDKit from PubChem SMILES. Literature: retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works (targeted per-candidate search), resolved on OpenAlex.
DeCure is a research and publication project, not medical advice and not a treatment. "DeCure for X" describes a research goal, not a claim that a cure exists. Backing a cure is a contribution to fund the research — it is not an investment, and confers no yield, royalty, equity or IP ownership. Papers are published open-access by the DeCure.ai DAO.
