PEP-0059Investigational

MOTS-C

Also known as

MOTS-C is catalogued in the Peptides Pub research index, with coverage focused on Metabolic health.

Evidence

Preliminary· 3.5

Animal or in-vitro only

Risk band

Moderate

Known AEs, monitoring advised

Research goals

Metabolic health

Summary

MOTS-c is a 16-amino-acid mitochondrial-derived peptide encoded within the 12S ribosomal RNA gene that regulates insulin sensitivity and metabolic homeostasis, acting primarily on skeletal muscle by inhibiting the folate-methionine cycle and de novo purine biosynthesis to activate AMPK [4]. It can translocate to the nucleus under metabolic stress and directly regulate adaptive gene expression to promote cellular homeostasis [3]. In mice, MOTS-c treatment prevented age-dependent and high-fat-diet-induced insulin resistance and diet-induced obesity [4], and reviews summarize its therapeutic potential across aging, cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance, and inflammation while noting these remain at the mechanistic and exploratory stage [1,2]. The provided evidence is entirely preclinical or review-level, with no interventional human trials of administering MOTS-c as a therapeutic, so its clinical value is unproven.

Sources

  1. 1. MOTS-c Functionally Prevents Metabolic Disorders Metabolites, 2023.
  2. 2. MOTS-c: A promising mitochondrial-derived peptide for therapeutic exploitation Frontiers in endocrinology, 2023.
  3. 3. MOTS-c: A Mitochondrial-Encoded Regulator of the Nucleus BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology, 2019.
  4. 4. The mitochondrial-derived peptide MOTS-c promotes metabolic homeostasis and reduces obesity and insulin resistance Cell metabolism, 2015.

For educational purposes only.

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