Researchers from Nagoya University, leveraging artificial intelligence, have identified a compound that could become a superior option for reducing stomach acid production. The findings were shared in the journal Communication Biology.
Stomach acid aids digestion, yet excessive production can irritate the esophagus and stomach lining, causing heartburn or ulcers. Proton pump inhibitors are commonly used to manage this imbalance.
The study examined the three dimensional arrangement of the gastric proton pump, the protein responsible for moving hydrogen ions to generate hydrochloric acid in the stomach. The structure was explored with Deep Quartet, an AI-driven platform designed to accelerate drug discovery.
AI enabled the creation of novel chemical structures and the researchers observed how these substances interacted with the proton pump using cryoelectron microscopy. The results show that the new compounds snugly fit the protein, effectively inhibiting its function.
Among the compounds tested, DQ-06 stood out as the most promising. Cryoelectron microscopy data indicated that adding a chlorine atom to this molecule could further improve binding strength to the proton pump. The team synthesized a derivative, named DQ-18, and demonstrated that it attached to the protein with about ten times greater affinity than existing reference compounds.
Earlier AI-driven efforts had demonstrated the potential of nanoscopic imaging to detect vascular plaques, using signals derived from ECG data. This study extends the use of AI to understand protein targets in the digestive system and to optimize how they can be blocked to protect tissue from acid damage.