DeCure for DPAGT1-congenital disorder of glycosylation
DeCure's autonomous Rare AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for DPAGT1-congenital disorder of glycosylation — screening already-approved drugs against its 1-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleDPAGT1-congenital disorder of glycosylation maps to a 1-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 dpagt1-congenital disorder of glycosylation 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
dolichyl-phosphate N-acetylglucosaminephosphotransferase 1 (DPAGT1) — DPAGT1 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 tumdrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 6BW6 · 2.95 Å · ligand Tunicamycin (TUM). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
DPAGT1-CDG is caused by mutations in the gene encoding UDP-N-acetylglucosamine-dolichyl-phosphate N-acetylglucosamine phosphotransferase, an endoplasmic reticulum protein involved in the first step of N-glycosylation. A 2017 study examined six mutations found in patients with DPAGT1-CDG (c.358C>A, c.791T>G, c.901C>T, c.902G>A, c.1154T>G, and a novel c.329T>C) in patient-derived fibroblasts and COS-7 cells. These mutations were shown to affect splicing, protein stability, or the ability of the protein to localise correctly in the ER membrane. The unfolded protein response, a cellular reaction to ER stress, was not active in DPAGT1-CDG fibroblasts, unlike in cells from patients with PMM2-CDG or DPM1-CDG. However, the DPAGT1-CDG fibroblasts appeared more sensitive to the stressor tunicamycin.
No treatment for DPAGT1-CDG is described in the available abstracts. A 2023 case series on PGM1-CDG, a different subtype, reported that oral D-galactose supplementation produced notable clinical improvement in four of five patients, with significant improvement or normalisation of transferrin glycosylation, liver transaminases, and coagulation factors in three patients, creatine kinase levels in two, and resolution of hypoglycaemia in two. One patient discontinued treatment due to urinary frequency and lack of improvement, and one experienced recurrent rhabdomyolysis and tachycardia even on higher doses. D-galactose failed to improve cardiac function, which was abnormal in three patients and remains the biggest challenge in treating PGM1-CDG. This treatment is specific to PGM1-CDG and has not been tested in DPAGT1-CDG.
The broader group of congenital disorders of glycosylation includes over 30 molecularly identified subtypes as of 2008, with heterogeneous and highly variable clinical manifestations even within the same subtype. For RFT1-CDG, a related disorder involving a different glycosylation step, three novel patients were described in 2009 with mutations c.199C>T, c.454A>G, and c.892G>A, all showing accumulation of Man5GlcNAc2-PP-dolichol and reduced secretion of a reporter protein. Their clinical picture included typical CDG symptoms plus sensorineural deafness. Glycosylation and protein secretion could be normalised by expressing normal RFT1 cDNA in patient fibroblasts, but this is a laboratory finding, not a clinical therapy.
What is missing for DPAGT1-CDG is any clinical trial of a therapeutic agent, any patient stratification by mutation type or severity, and the funding needed to move from cellular studies to a treatment. The 2017 work suggests that splicing and folding therapies might be developed, but no such therapy has been tested in patients.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
Human Mutation · 2009 · 39 citations · open access
RFT1 deficiency in three novel CDG patients
AbstractThe medical significance of N-glycosylation is underlined by a group of inherited human disorders called Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation (CDG). One key step in the biosynthesis of the Glc(3)Man(9)GlcNAc(2)-PP-dolichol precursor, essential for N-glycosylation, is the translocation of Man(5)GlcNAc(2)-PP-dolichol across the endoplasmic reticulum membrane. This step is facilitated by the RFT1 protein. Recently, the first RFT1-deficient CDG (RFT1-CDG) patient was identified and presented a severe N-glycosylation disorder. In the present study, we describe three novel CDG patients with an RFT1 deficiency. The first patient was homozygous for the earlier reported RFT1 missense mutation (c.199C>T; p.R67C), whereas the two other patients were homozygous for the missense mutation c.454A>G (p.K152E) and c.892G>A (p.E298 K), respectively. The pathogenic character of the novel mutations was illustrated by the accumulation of Man(5)GlcNAc(2)-PP-dolichol and by reduced recombinant DNase 1 secretion. Both the glycosylation pattern and recombinant DNase 1 secretion could be normalized by expression of normal RFT1 cDNA in the patients' fibroblasts. The clinical phenotype of these patients comprised typical CDG symptoms in addition to sensorineural deafness, rarely reported in CDG patients. The identification of additional RFT1-deficient patients allowed to delineate the main clinical picture of RFT1-CDG and confirmed the crucial role of RFT1 in Man(5)GlcNAc(2)-PP-dolichol translocation.
DPAGT1-CDG: Functional analysis of disease-causing pathogenic mutations and role of endoplasmic reticulum stress
AbstractPathogenic mutations in DPAGT1 are manifested as two possible phenotypes: congenital disorder of glycosylation DPAGT1-CDG (also known as CDG-Ij), and limb-girdle congenital myasthenic syndrome (CMS) with tubular aggregates. UDP-N-acetylglucosamine-dolichyl-phosphate N-acetylglucosamine phosphotransferase (GPT), the protein encoded by DPAGT1, is an endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-resident protein involved in an initial step in the N-glycosylation pathway. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of six variants in DPAGT1 detected in patients with DPAGT1-CDG, and the role of endoplasmic reticulum stress, as part of the search for therapeutic strategies to use against DPAGT1-CDG. The effect of the six mutations, i.e., c.358C>A (p.Leu120Met), c.791T>G (p.Val264Gly), c.901C>T (p.Arg301Cys), c.902G>A (p.Arg301His), c.1154T>G (p.Leu385Arg), and of the novel mutation c.329T>C (p.Phe110Ser), were examined via the analysis of DPAGT1 transcriptional profiles and GTP levels in patient-derived fibroblasts. In addition, the transient expression of different mutations was analysed in COS-7 cells. The results obtained, together with those of bioinformatic studies, revealed these mutations to affect the splicing process, the stability of GTP, or the ability of this protein to correctly localise in the ER membrane. The unfolded protein response (UPR; the response to ER stress) was found not to be active in patient-derived fibroblasts, unlike that seen in cells from patients with PMM2-CDG or DPM1-CDG. Even so, the fibroblasts of patients with DPAGT1-CDG seemed to be more sensitive to the stressor tunicamycin. The present work improves our knowledge of DPAGT1-CDG and provides bases for developing tailored splicing and folding therapies.
Journal of Inherited Metabolic Disease · 2008 · 21 citations
Congenital disorders of glycosylation—a challenging group of IEMs
AbstractCongenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG) are a rapidly growing group of inherited errors of metabolism (IEMs) due to an impairment of one or several glycosylation pathways. During recent years over 30 CDG subtypes have been identified at a molecular and biochemical level. The clinical manifestations in CDG are heterogeneous and may be highly variable within the same subtype and even among affected siblings. Novel insights into the extremely complex glycosylation pathways have necessitated several reclassifications of the group of CDG. Today CDG comprise not only the formerly known multisystem glycosylation defects but also some tissue-specific glycosylation defects, implicating a different diagnostic work-up depending on the underlying glycosylation defect. In 2007 the expanding group of CDG is an enormous challenge to all specialists working in the field of IEMs. This review gives a brief overview about the expanded group of CDG and summarizes the main implications for clinicians.
Therapeutic Advances in Rare Disease · 2023 · 11 citations · open access
Novel insights into the phenotype and long-term D-gal treatment in PGM1-CDG: a case series
AbstractPhosphoglucomutase-1-congenital disorder of glycosylation (PGM1-CDG) (OMIM: 614921) is a rare autosomal recessive inherited metabolic disease caused by the deficiency of the PGM1 enzyme. Like other CDGs, PGM1-CDG has a multisystemic presentation. The most common clinical findings include liver involvement, rhabdomyolysis, hypoglycemia, and cardiac involvement. Phenotypic severity can vary, though cardiac presentation is usually part of the most severe phenotype, often resulting in early death. Unlike the majority of CDGs, PGM1-CDG has a treatment: oral D-galactose (D-gal) supplementation, which significantly improves many aspects of the disorder. Here, we describe five PGM1-CDG patients treated with D-gal and report both on novel clinical symptoms in PGM1-CDG as well as the effects of the D-gal treatment. D-gal resulted in notable clinical improvement in four patients, though the efficacy of treatment varied between the patients. Furthermore, there was a significant improvement or normalization in transferrin glycosylation, liver transaminases and coagulation factors in three patients, creatine kinase (CK) levels in two, while hypoglycemia resolved in two patients. One patient discontinued the treatment due to urinary frequency and lack of clinical improvement. Furthermore, one patient experienced recurrent episodes of rhabdomyolysis and tachycardia even on higher doses of therapy. D-gal also failed to improve the cardiac function, which was initially abnormal in three patients, and remains the biggest challenge in treating PGM1-CDG. Together, our findings expand the phenotype of PGM1-CDG and underline the importance of developing novel therapies that would specifically treat the cardiac phenotype in PGM1-CDG.
Sage Journals Data · 2023 · 0 citations · open access
Novel insights into the phenotype and long-term D-gal treatment in PGM1-CDG: a case series
AbstractPhosphoglucomutase-1-congenital disorder of glycosylation (PGM1-CDG) (OMIM: 614921) is a rare autosomal recessive inherited metabolic disease caused by the deficiency of the PGM1 enzyme. Like other CDGs, PGM1-CDG has a multisystemic presentation. The most common clinical findings include liver involvement, rhabdomyolysis, hypoglycemia, and cardiac involvement. Phenotypic severity can vary, though cardiac presentation is usually part of the most severe phenotype, often resulting in early death. Unlike the majority of CDGs, PGM1-CDG has a treatment: oral D-galactose (D-gal) supplementation, which significantly improves many aspects of the disorder. Here, we describe five PGM1-CDG patients treated with D-gal and report both on novel clinical symptoms in PGM1-CDG as well as the effects of the D-gal treatment. D-gal resulted in notable clinical improvement in four patients, though the efficacy of treatment varied between the patients. Furthermore, there was a significant improvement or normalization in transferrin glycosylation, liver transaminases and coagulation factors in three patients, creatine kinase (CK) levels in two, while hypoglycemia resolved in two patients. One patient discontinued the treatment due to urinary frequency and lack of clinical improvement. Furthermore, one patient experienced recurrent episodes of rhabdomyolysis and tachycardia even on higher doses of therapy. D-gal also failed to improve the cardiac function, which was initially abnormal in three patients, and remains the biggest challenge in treating PGM1-CDG. Together, our findings expand the phenotype of PGM1-CDG and underline the importance of developing novel therapies that would specifically treat the cardiac phenotype in PGM1-CDG.Plain Language Summary<b>An update on benefits and challenges of treating PGM1-CDG with galactose</b>PGM1-CDG is a rare genetic disorder that affects glycosylation, an important biochemical process happening in every cell of the body. Because glycosylation is essential for correct functioning of the cells and happens in every tissue and organ, patients with PGM1-CDG can have a variety of symptoms affecting many different organs. Main symptoms include low blood glucose levels, hyperinsulinism, bleeding disorder, liver, muscle, heart problems, and so on. This disorder is usually diagnosed based on the genetic testing, patient’s symptoms, and transferrin glycosylation test, which detects abnormalities in glycosylation in blood. So far, more than 60 patients have been reported. Unlike many genetic disorders, PGM1-CDG has a treatment in the form of a sugar called galactose, which naturally occurs in milk, and can treat many symptoms of the disorder. The patients are advised to take it every day by mouth in the form of powder. Here, we describe five more patients with PGM1-CDG, who were treated with galactose. Each of the patients had novel symptoms and they responded to the treatment differently, which helps us to better understand the disorder and the effects of therapy better. We found that many symptoms improved or normalized; however, some patients experienced persistent symptoms and even adverse events that made them stop treatment. Unfortunately, we did not observe any improvement of heart-related issues. Given that heart issues are the most severe aspect of PGM1-CDG and can result in early death, therapies that target heart issues in PGM1-CDG are still necessary. In conclusion, we describe novel aspects of PGM1-CDG, which will help understand and diagnose the disorder better, and highlight the importance of developing new therapies for this disorder that would specifically treat the heart.
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.
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