MOTS-c: The Peptide Encoded Inside Your Mitochondria
MOTS-c broke a rule of biology textbooks: it is a peptide encoded not in the nucleus but inside the mitochondrial genome – hidden within the gene for the 12S ribosomal RNA. Its 2015 discovery helped establish an entire class, the mitochondrial-derived peptides, and made this 16-amino-acid molecule one of the most-watched compounds in metabolism research.
What it is
MOTS-c (mitochondrial open reading frame of the twelve S rRNA type-c) was described by Changhan Lee and colleagues in the Cohen laboratory in 2015. The peptide is detectable in circulation, and reported levels decline with age – a pattern that immediately positioned it in ageing-biology research alongside the earlier mitochondrial peptide humanin.
What the research examines
Metabolic regulation. The founding work reported that MOTS-c activates AMPK – the cell’s master energy sensor – and influences glucose utilisation and insulin sensitivity in cell and mouse models, including diet-induced obesity models.
A nuclear translocation twist. Under metabolic stress, MOTS-c has been reported to move into the nucleus and modulate expression of stress-response genes – a mitochondria-to-nucleus signalling loop that is one of the more provocative ideas attached to the molecule.
Exercise physiology. Circulating MOTS-c rises with exercise in reported human data, and mouse studies have examined whether administration affects running capacity – the line of work that generated most of the popular attention. These remain model-system findings: MOTS-c is an investigational compound with no established human safety or efficacy profile, the context our safety explainer lays out.
At the bench
MOTS-c handles like a typical short peptide: lyophilized storage per the temperature reference, gentle reconstitution, refrigerated solutions. MOTS-c in the VitaPep catalogue ships with per-lot HPLC and MS verification on the COA lookup.
All compounds supplied by VitaPep are for in-vitro laboratory research use only. Nothing on this page is guidance for human or veterinary use of any kind.
EDUCATIONAL CONTENT ON PUBLISHED RESEARCH · ALL VITAPEP PRODUCTS ARE FOR LABORATORY RESEARCH USE ONLY AND NOT FOR HUMAN OR VETERINARY USE.