The research group of Professor Keiichi Nakayama of the Institute of Biodefense Medicine, Kyushu University, Hideyuki Shimizu, Research Fellow, Department of System Biology, Harvard Medical School, and Professor Hirofumi Sawa of the International Joint Research Institute for Human and Veterinary Infectious Diseases, Hokkaido University, is a research group of proteins. We have developed artificial intelligence (AI) that quickly finds therapeutic drug candidates from amino acid sequences.When this was tested with the new coronavirus, we found compounds that were effective against many mutant strains such as the Delta strain.
According to Kyushu University, if the three-dimensional structure of the protein that causes the disease is known, it is possible to search for a therapeutic drug, but the structure of many proteins is still unknown.For this reason, the problem is that drug discovery takes time.Therefore, the research group has developed an AI that finds compounds that are candidates for therapeutic agents from amino acid sequences that are more easily available, without using the three-dimensional structure of proteins at all.
When AI was asked to search for therapeutic drug candidates for various diseases such as cancer, infectious diseases, and lifestyle-related diseases, it succeeded in finding new anticancer and antibacterial agents, and the fifth wave of the new corona infection. We have discovered compounds that are effective against many mutant strains, including the Delta strain that caused the infection explosion.A promising compound for the treatment of the new corona is approved as a diuretic and a treatment for glaucoma called ethoxyzolamide.
We have found that the compound plays a role in suppressing new coronavirus infections and protecting cells from viruses.
The research group says that the AI will enable faster therapeutic drug development.
Paper information:[BioRxiv] LIGHT HOUSE illuminates therapeutics for a variety of diseases including COVID-19
