DeCure's autonomous Respiratory AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for upper respiratory tract disorder — screening already-approved drugs against its 37-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleUpper respiratory tract disorder maps to a 37-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 upper respiratory tract disorder 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
ABO, alpha 1-3-N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase and alpha 1-3-galactosyltransferase (ABO) — ABO 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 6-deoxy-alpha-l-galactopyranosyldrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 4Y63 · 1.3 Å · ligand octyl 2-O-(6-deoxy-alpha-L-galactopyranosyl)-beta-D-galactopyranoside (BHE). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
In a 2011 study of patients with primary immunodeficiency, nasal fluid from healthy controls and most patients showed increased levels of antimicrobial peptides in response to pathogenic bacteria. This increase was absent in patients with common variable immunodeficiency and Hyper-IgE syndrome, even when pathogenic bacteria were present. Both groups also showed impaired production of IL-17A after stimulation of their peripheral blood mononuclear cells. The sample size is not given in the abstract, and no survival or response rates are reported.
A 2023 marketing study of expectorant herbal remedies notes that pharmacotherapy for upper respiratory tract disease involves multiple chemical drugs, which increase side effects, and asserts that herbal remedies produce fewer side effects. No patient data, numbers, or comparative outcomes are provided in the abstract.
A 2019 review of Treacher Collins syndrome summarises that upper respiratory obstruction in these patients results from midface or mandibular hypoplasia and soft tissue hypertrophy. The review states that due to the low incidence of the syndrome, there is a lack of high-quality evidence to guide treatment. No trial results, response rates, or survival data are reported.
What is still missing are large-scale prospective clinical studies for Treacher Collins syndrome, any controlled trial data for the herbal remedies mentioned, and, for the antimicrobial peptide findings, a trial that tests whether restoring AMP or IL-17A responses reduces infection rates in CVID or Hyper-IgE patients. Patient stratification by specific immune defect and funding for such trials remain absent.
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 · 9 citations · open access
Impaired Release of Antimicrobial Peptides into Nasal Fluid of Hyper-IgE and CVID Patients
AbstractBACKGROUND: Patients with primary immunodeficiency (PID) often suffer from frequent respiratory tract infections. Despite standard treatment with IgG-substitution and antibiotics many patients do not improve significantly. Therefore, we hypothesized that additional immune deficits may be present among these patients. OBJECTIVE: To investigate if PID patients exhibit impaired production of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in nasal fluid and a possible link between AMP-expression and Th17-cells. METHODS: Nasal fluid, nasopharyngeal swabs and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were collected from patients and healthy controls. AMP levels were measured in nasal fluid by Western blotting. Nasal swabs were cultured for bacteria. PBMCs were stimulated with antigen and the supernatants were assessed for IL-17A release by ELISA. RESULTS: In healthy controls and most patients, AMP levels in nasal fluid were increased in response to pathogenic bacteria. However, this increase was absent in patients with common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) and Hyper-IgE syndrome (HIES), despite the presence of pathogenic bacteria. Furthermore, stimulation of PBMCs revealed that both HIES and CVID patients exhibited an impaired production of IL-17A. CONCLUSION: CVID and HIES patients appear to have a dysregulated AMP response to pathogenic bacteria in the upper respiratory tract, which could be linked to an aberrant Th17 cell response.
EXPERIMENTAL & CLINICAL MEDICINE GEORGIA · 2023 · 0 citations · open access
A MARKETING STUDY OF EXPECTORANT HERBAL REMEDIES
AbstractDiseases of the upper respiratory tract are widespread. Their chronic relapsing nature and the frequency of complications reduce work capacity. Pharmacotherapy for the treatment of the upper respiratory tract involves the complex appointment of chemical drugs, which leads to an increase in the number of side effects. Therefore, it is necessary to create new, highly effective means that are non-toxic during long-term use. Such are the herbal remedies, after which the side effects were less visible.
[Progress of diagnosis and treatment of upper respiratory obstruction in patients with Treacher Collins syndrome].
AbstractOBJECTIVE: To summarize the progress of diagnosis and treatment of upper respiratory obstruction in patients with Treacher Collins syndrome (TCS). METHODS: The domestic and abroad literature about the diagnosis and treatment of upper respiratory obstruction in patients with TCS was extensively reviewed and analyzed. RESULTS: TCS is an autosomal-dominant craniofacial developmental syndrome. It is often accompanied by midface and/or mandibular hypoplasia, soft tissue hypertrophy, and other respiratory tissue developmental abnormalities, which can lead to different degrees of upper respiratory obstruction symptoms. Respiratory obstruction in patients with TCS is affected by many factors, and the obstructive degree are different. Early detection of the causes and obstructive sites and adopted targeted treatments can relieve the symptoms of respiratory obstruction and avoid severe complications. CONCLUSION: Due to the low incidence of TCS, there is still a lack of high-quality research evidence to guide clinical treatment. Large-scale and prospective clinical studies are needed to provide new ideas for the treatment and prevention of upper respiratory obstruction.
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.
