MOTS-c: A Peptide Encoded by Mitochondrial DNA
One of a small group of peptides transcribed from mitochondrial DNA rather than the nucleus, studied for AMPK activation and metabolic signalling.
MOTS-c is not encoded in the nucleus. It is one of a small group of peptides transcribed from mitochondrial DNA, which makes it a genuinely different kind of research subject from everything else in a peptide catalog — and explains why the literature around it reads more like cell biology than pharmacology.
Everything below describes published preclinical and in-vitro research. It is not a therapeutic claim, not medical advice, and not a statement about effects in humans.
What it is
MOTS-c — mitochondrial open reading frame of the twelve S rRNA type-c — is a 16-amino-acid peptide encoded within the mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene. It was described by Lee and colleagues in 2015, and it belongs to a class now called mitochondrial-derived peptides, of which humanin was the first.
That origin is the whole reason it is interesting. Mitochondria were long treated as organelles that produce energy and signal through metabolites; the discovery that they encode short peptides which act in the nucleus reframed them as a signalling compartment in their own right.
Reported mechanisms
- AMPK activation — the most consistently reported theme, with published work describing activation of the AMP-activated protein kinase pathway, the cell’s principal energy sensor.
- Folate–methionine cycle — studies describe interference with the one-carbon metabolism pathway, framed by the authors as the upstream event that leads to AMPK activation.
- Nuclear translocation — a distinctive finding: work describing MOTS-c moving into the nucleus under metabolic stress and influencing gene expression there, which is unusual for a mitochondrially encoded product.
- Exercise and metabolic models — a body of research examining levels in skeletal muscle and plasma under metabolic challenge.
Practical notes
| Length | 16 amino acids |
|---|---|
| Encoded by | Mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene |
| First described | 2015 |
| Class | Mitochondrial-derived peptide |
| Primary reported mechanism | AMPK activation |
| Typical vial size | 10 mg |
Reading this literature critically
- This is a young literature. First described in 2015, it has roughly a decade of published work behind it against fifty years for some peptides in this catalog, and the mechanistic picture is still being assembled.
- MOTS-c is not an approved medicine in the European Union or anywhere else.
- Much of the metabolic work is in rodent models, where mitochondrial physiology differs from the human case in ways that matter for this specific question.
- Because the peptide is endogenous, some studies measure native levels rather than administering it, and the two designs answer different questions. Check which a given paper did.
Handling
Supplied as lyophilised powder at 10 mg. Stable at room temperature before reconstitution, refrigerated after, and subject to the same aggregation rules as any peptide of this length — swirl gently, never shake. Our reconstitution guide covers the technique and the calculator the arithmetic.
Every batch is analysed by an independent laboratory for HPLC purity and mass-spectrometric identity, with batch-matched certificates available on request. See the MOTS-c 10mg product page, or the rest of metabolic research.
All products and information referenced are for in-vitro research and laboratory use only. Nothing here is medical advice, and no therapeutic claim is made or implied.