MOTS-c is a chain of 16 amino acids made from a gene inside mitochondria, the parts of a cell that make energy. Scientists have tested it mostly in mice and cells for effects on blood sugar, muscle and exercise. No randomized trial has given it to people.
Why scientists study it
- It is a signal made from a mitochondrial gene that turns on AMPK, an enzyme that senses a cell’s energy level and helps control metabolism across the body.
- Blood levels fall with age in people and rise for a short time after hard exercise, so it may be a marker of how well mitochondria work.
- In lab models it has been tested for exercise-like effects on insulin response, glucose use and the upkeep of skeletal muscle.
Three studies to know
2015 · Cell Metabolism
Lee and colleagues first described MOTS-c. In mice it turned on AMPK, improved the response to insulin, kept metabolism in balance and cut obesity caused by diet. All later MOTS-c research starts from this paper. Read the paper
2021 · Nature Communications
Reynolds and colleagues found that exercise raises MOTS-c, and that the peptide helps control physical decline with age. Giving it to old mice improved their performance. In people, a single bout of exercise raised blood levels. Read the paper
2021 · Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab
Kumagai and colleagues found that MOTS-c lowers myostatin and other signals that shrink muscle. In rodents, that ties it to muscle loss from aging and from disuse. Read the paper
Safety and legal status
- The research is made up of cell and rodent studies, plus early human blood marker and exercise studies. No randomized controlled trial that gives MOTS-c to people has been published.
- It is not approved by the FDA, the EMA or the MHRA. The World Anti-Doping Agency names it on its Prohibited List as an AMPK activator, banned at all times.
- For laboratory research and in vitro use only. It is not meant for human use.