MOTS-c
Also referred to as: Mitochondrial ORF of the 12S rRNA type-c
A small peptide made by the cell's power plants (mitochondria). Studied in animals for its role in metabolism and exercise.
In plain terms: MOTS-c is a tiny peptide that comes from mitochondria — the little "power plants" inside your cells. Its discovery helped show that mitochondria can send out signals of their own. Research on it is early and mostly in animals, focused on metabolism and exercise.
- Name
- MOTS-c
- Aliases
- Mitochondrial ORF of the 12S rRNA type-c
- Classification
- Mitochondrial-derived peptide
- Areas studied
- Mitochondrial signaling, Metabolic regulation, Exercise biology
What it is
MOTS-c is a short peptide whose instructions are stored inside mitochondria — the structures that produce energy inside your cells. It belongs to a small group of "mitochondria-made" peptides. Finding it helped support the idea that mitochondria do not just make energy, but also send out chemical signals that act elsewhere in the cell.
Research on MOTS-c is mostly early-stage and focused on understanding how it works in the body's metabolism.
Mechanism
In lab studies, MOTS-c has been tied to the control of metabolism, including a key cellular "fuel gauge" pathway called AMPK that senses when energy is running low. It has also been studied for moving into the cell's nucleus under stress, where it may help adjust which genes are switched on.
These effects have been seen in animals and cells, not confirmed in people.
Areas studied & investigated
The categories below summarize where MOTS-c appears in the research literature. They describe what the compound is studied for and investigated in — not approved uses, and not guidance for any kind of use.
Mitochondrial signals
A leading example in research on how mitochondria send signals to the rest of the cell.
Energy sensing
Tied to AMPK, a pathway cells use to sense and respond to low energy, in lab models.
Stress response
Studied for moving into the nucleus under stress and influencing gene activity.
Exercise
Looked at in animal studies on exercise and how the body adapts to it.
Research history
MOTS-c was reported in the mid-2010s as one of the first mitochondria-made peptides shown to actually do something, which kicked off a wave of research into peptides encoded inside mitochondria.
State of the literature
MOTS-c is an active area of basic metabolism research, with a mostly early-stage, animal-based body of work. It is not an approved drug.
What to keep in mind
MOTS-c is exciting to scientists because it is a newer discovery, but "new and interesting in the lab" cuts both ways — there is not much research yet, and almost none in people. Newer does not mean better-understood; it usually means the opposite. Treat anything you read about what it "does" as an early hypothesis, and weigh how thin the human evidence is.
Research tools
Evaluating a MOTS-c batch for laboratory research? These free, research-use-only calculators help you work the numbers and read the paperwork: the reconstitution calculator solves vial concentration and draw volume, and the COA reader walks a certificate line by line. For how much and how often MOTS-c is commonly used, see the dosing guides.
Batch-tested with published COAs
See a published COA for MOTS-c
Midwest Compounds sells MOTS-c with a batch-linked certificate of analysis from an independent lab, published before you buy. This page is educational; purchasing happens on the store.
Citations
The summary above is drawn from published, peer-reviewed sources. Links open the abstract on PubMed, or the free full text on PubMed Central (PMC) where marked.
- Lee C, et al. The mitochondrial-derived peptide MOTS-c promotes metabolic homeostasis and reduces obesity and insulin resistance. Cell Metabolism, 2015. Free full text PMC
- Reynolds JC, et al. MOTS-c is an exercise-induced mitochondrial-encoded regulator of age-dependent physical decline and muscle homeostasis. Nature Communications, 2021. Abstract