DeCure's autonomous Nephrology AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for bilateral renal agenesis — screening already-approved drugs against its 7-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleBilateral renal agenesis maps to a 7-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 bilateral renal agenesis 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
fibroblast growth factor 20 (FGF20) — FGF20 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 apo structuredrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 3F1R · 2.5 Å · ligand none (apo structure). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
Bilateral renal agenesis occurs in roughly 1 per 3,000 births. Prenatal diagnosis by ultrasound is possible but can be equivocal, making pregnancy management difficult. Three cases from 1988 illustrate the diversity of the condition. No treatment or intervention is described in the available abstracts.
Unilateral renal agenesis is more common, with an incidence around 1 in 2,000, and is slightly more frequent in males. It is usually asymptomatic if the single kidney is fully functional, and is often detected incidentally during imaging for urinary tract infection or hypertension. The condition results from failure of the ureteric bud to induce metanephric blastema development or from absence of the nephrogenic ridge. Associated anomalies can occur in the genital tract and other organ systems, including the skeleton.
Two cases from 1976 link unilateral renal agenesis with multiple skeletal abnormalities, suggesting the same pathologic agents affect both systems. A 2015 report notes that antenatal ultrasound can identify renal agenesis, but normal amniotic fluid volume and a visible bladder often cause the diagnosis to be missed unless the absent kidney, absent ipsilateral renal artery, and possible ectopic kidney are specifically sought. Postnatal imaging — ultrasound, CT, MRI — confirms absence of one kidney and compensatory hypertrophy of the remaining kidney.
No abstracts report any drug therapy, clinical trial, or survival data for bilateral or unilateral renal agenesis. What is missing is any research funding for prenatal intervention, any trial design for postnatal management of the single kidney, and any patient stratification to predict which cases will develop hypertension or renal failure.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
Southern Medical Journal · 1988 · 12 citations
Bilateral Renal Agenesis: Clinical Implications
AbstractBilateral renal agenesis is a common congenital defect, with an incidence of 1 per 3,000 births. Though prenatal diagnosis is possible with ultrasound examination, sonographic findings may be equivocal, making the management of such pregnancies difficult. I report three cases that represent the diversity of the condition, and discuss implications of management.
Unilateral Renal Agenesis Associated With Multiple Skeletal Abnormalities
AbstractTwo cases are presented in which an association between unilateral renal agenesis and multiple skeletal abnormalities is found. The pathologic agents responsible for the URA act similarily on other organ systems, including the skeleton. The skeletal abnormality can be diagnosed easily and promptly and may be an indicator for anomalies in other systems as well, especially the urogenital system.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2015 · 0 citations · open access
Unilateral Renal Agenesis Associated With Anomaly of Left Testicular Venous Return
AbstractUnilateral renal agenesis is the most common congenital abnormality of the urinary tract [1, 2] and is characterized by the complete absence of development of one kidney accompanied by an absence of ureter and renal vessels. The incidence of unilateral renal agenesis in each year it is estimated at around one in two thousand and the incidence in male is slightly higher than females. Renal agenesis is caused by failure of the ureteric bud to induce development of metanephric blastema or by absence of the nephrogenic ridge [3]. The condition is usually asymptomatic and is commonly detected as a chance during renal ultrasound for the evaluation of a urinary tract infection, or in adults who present with hypertension. Most patients are asymptomatic if the other kidney is fully functional. Renal agenesis is occasionally associated with genital tract anomalies on the same side and also the other organs may show anomalies as well [4-6]. With the widespread use of antenatal ultrasound, renal agenesis can be identified in utero, although the presence of normal amounts of amniotic fluid and urine in the bladder results in the diagnosis being frequently missed, unless specifically and routinely looked for the features like absent kidney, absent ipsilateral renal artery and care must be taken not to mistake the low lying adrenal gland which is large in fetuses compared for a kidney. Careful examination of the rest of the abdomen should be carried out to ensure that an ectopic kidney is not present (more common than renal agenesis) as well as of the 'single' kidney to ensure it does not represent crossed fused renal ectopia. All imaging modalities such as postnatal ultrasound, CT and MRI will demonstrate the absence of a kidney, with the associated hypertrophy of the single kidney. Color Doppler interrogation may aid in showing absence of renal arteries.
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.
