DeCure's autonomous Rare AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for primary biliary cirrhosis — screening already-approved drugs against its 43-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease modulePrimary biliary cirrhosis maps to a 43-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 primary biliary cirrhosis 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
dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) — DHFR 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 ndpdrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 4M6J · 1.201 Å · ligand NADPH DIHYDRO-NICOTINAMIDE-ADENINE-DINUCLEOTIDE PHOSPHATE (NDP). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
Primary biliary cirrhosis is a disease of the small bile ducts with altered immunologic responsiveness, often associated with various collagen diseases, all of which appear to be mediated by immune complex deposition. The authors of a 1979 paper propose that these conditions are probably different clinical manifestations of the same disease, with different expressions determined by genetic and acquired factors, and that therapy should be directed to the most immediate life-threatening problem. A 2010 review states that the etiology remains largely unknown despite numerous lines of evidence, though an autoimmune pathogenesis is widely accepted based on the presence of autoantibodies and autoreactive T cells. Association and twin studies suggest that both a susceptible genetic background and environmental factors determine disease onset, with multiple infectious and chemical candidates potentially contributing in a genetically susceptible host.
A 1994 editorial notes that effective therapy for primary biliary cirrhosis is lacking, not for want of appropriate immunosuppressive, antifibrotic, and cupruretic agents, and that a consensus as to which agent to use has not been reached. Recent studies at that time suggested that ursodeoxycholate may be both safe and effective, but the long-term response to this hydrophilic bile acid was still unknown. A 1959 paper reviewing case histories of patients with primary, cholangiolitic, toxic, and secondary biliary cirrhosis reports that although conditions designated as biliary cirrhosis may present uniform clinical syndromes, the pathologic findings are often variable, and confusion still exists between clinician and pathologist regarding the nature of the syndrome.
No controlled trial data from these abstracts demonstrate that any drug improves survival or histological outcomes in primary biliary cirrhosis. The 1994 editorial explicitly states that effective therapy is lacking. What is still missing is a clear understanding of the disease's cause, reliable long-term outcome data for ursodeoxycholate, and a consensus on which patients might benefit from which agent.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
Postgraduate Medicine · 1979 · 15 citations
Primary biliary cirrhosis as a collagen disease
AbstractPrimary biliary cirrhosis is a disease of the small bile ducts with altered immunologic responsiveness often associated with various collagen diseases. All appear to be mediated by immune complex deposition. They probably are all different clinical manifestations of the same disease with different expressions determined by genetic and acquired factors. Therapy should be directed to the most immediate life-threatening problem.
AbstractThe etiology of primary biliary cirrhosis remains largely unknown despite numerous lines of evidence that have been recently proposed or supported. Primary biliary cirrhosis is a chronic cholestatic liver disease for which an autoimmune pathogenesis is widely accepted, mostly based on the presence of autoantibodies and autoreactive T cells. Cumulatively, association and twin studies suggest that both a susceptible genetic background and environmental factors determine disease onset. Multiple infectious and chemical candidates may contribute to the disease onset in a genetically susceptible host. Several murine models have been recently reported and include genetically determined ones as well as models induced by immunization with chemicals and bacteria.
Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology · 1994 · 2 citations
Editorial
AbstractEffective therapy for primary biliary cirrhosis is lacking but not for want of appropriate immunosuppressive, antifibrotic, and cupruretic agents. A consensus as to which agent, if any, to use has not been reached. Recent studies suggest that ursodeoxycholate may be both safe and effective. However, the long-term response to this hydrophilic bile acid is still unknown.
Cholestasis (So-called Biliary Cirrhosis): Problems in Classification
AbstractAlthough conditions designated as biliary cirrhosis may present uniform clinical syndromes, the pathologic findings are often variable. As a result, confusion still exists between the clinician and pathologist regarding the nature of the syndrome. The authors review case histories of patients with primary, cholangiolitic, toxic and Secondary biliary cirrhosis.
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.
