DeCure's autonomous Rare AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for pheochromocytoma — screening already-approved drugs against its 15-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease modulePheochromocytoma maps to a 15-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 pheochromocytoma 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
farnesyltransferase, CAAX box, subunit beta (FNTB) — FNTB 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 fardrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 2H6F · 1.5 Å · ligand FARNESYL (FAR). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism · 2007 · 67 citations
Identification of Potential Gene Markers and Insights into the Pathophysiology of Pheochromocytoma Malignancy
AbstractCONTEXT: Pheochromocytomas are catecholamine-producing tumors that are generally benign but that can also present as or develop into malignancy. Occurrence of malignant pheochromocytomas can only be asserted by imaging of metastatic lesions. OBJECTIVES: We conducted a gene expression profiling of benign and malignant tumors to identify a gene signature that would allow us to discriminate benign from malignant pheochromocytomas and to gain a better understanding of tumorigenic pathways associated with malignancy. DESIGN: A total of 36 patients with pheochromocytoma was studied retrospectively. There were 18 (nine benign and nine malignant) tumors used for gene expression profiling on pangenomic oligonucleotide microarrays. RESULTS: We identified and validated a set of predictor genes that could accurately distinguish the two tumor subtypes through unsupervised clustering. Most of the differentially expressed genes were down-regulated in malignant tumors, and several of these genes encoded neuroendocrine factors involved in prominent characteristics of chromaffin cell biology. In particular, the expression of two key processing enzymes of trophic peptides, peptidylglycine alpha-amidating monooxygenase and glutaminyl-peptide cyclotransferase, was reduced in malignant pheochromocytomas. CONCLUSION: The gene expression profiling of benign and malignant pheochromocytomas clearly identified a set of genes that could be used as a prognostic multi-marker and revealed that the expression of several genes encoding neuroendocrine proteins was reduced in malignant compared with benign tumors.
AbstractSurgical resection remains the cornerstone of pheochromocytoma therapy. Because most of these tumors are benign and unifocal, resection produces a permanent cure. Prior to 1950, the operative mortality was more than 25% . With a better understanding of the potential complications that contribute to perisurgical mortality and with the introduction of α-adrenergic antagonists, the current surgical mortality is 2% or less. Surgical therapies continue to evolve and are supported by a greater choice of localizing techniques and treatment strategies both preoperatively and perioperatively. Combined surgical and medical therapy is required for the management of metastatic pheochromocytoma.
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.
