MOTS-c

MOTS-c is a 16-amino-acid peptide encoded in the mitochondrial 12S rRNA region. The original 2015 paper found effects on folate and purine metabolism, AMPK signaling, and insulin-related outcomes in mice; it did not establish a human treatment effect. Lee et al., 2015, PMID 25738459

Human observations and administered-peptide research

Human work has measured the body’s own MOTS-c. A study of 77 participants found lower serum levels with more severe obstructive sleep apnea, but did not administer the peptide. A separate diabetes paper compared circulating levels in people with type 2 diabetes while its treatment experiments were in mouse islets and mice. These are distinct populations and neither provides treatment efficacy data. Luo et al., 2025, PMID 40538389 · Kong et al., 2025, PMID 40855115

A 2021 study combined human exercise-associated MOTS-c measurements with mouse treatment experiments. A 2026 muscle study used human physiological sampling but assigned administered-peptide effects to mouse experiments; it did not find an arterio-venous MOTS-c difference during exercise in people. Human biomarker changes do not show that an injection mimics exercise. Reynolds et al., 2021, PMID 33473109 · Gudiksen et al., 2026, PMID 41520850

ClinicalTrials.gov registers a native MOTS-c intervention for insulin sensitivity in adults with prediabetes and overweight or obesity. Its registration is a study plan, not an efficacy or safety result. The completed CB4211 trial tested a distinct MOTS-c analog, so its human exposure does not establish native MOTS-c outcomes. A kidney-transplant anesthesia study measures MOTS-c levels as a biomarker; it does not administer MOTS-c. NCT07505745 · NCT03998514 · NCT07678073

Preclinical scope and safety

A 2026 paper identified antimicrobial and immune effects in cell systems and a mouse infection model. Its experiments with human monocytes were laboratory studies, not clinical treatment of infection. This expands the mechanistic questions around MOTS-c without changing its human efficacy grade. Rice et al., 2026, PMID 42611943

A separate 2026 study administered MOTS-c to C26 tumor-bearing mice and tested it in cultured muscle cells. It found partial preservation of skeletal-muscle mass in that mouse cachexia model, without preventing overall body-weight or fat loss. It had no human treatment arm, did not test treatment after established cachexia, and does not establish preservation of muscle or exercise capacity in people. Jamnick et al., 2026, PMID 42266945

FDA lists MOTS-c among withdrawn bulk-drug nominations with potential immunogenicity and peptide-characterization risks. Its page says it has not identified human exposure data for compounded MOTS-c products and lacks sufficient safety information to know whether they would cause harm. The registered trial does not supply a published safety result. FDA compounding safety page

Metabolic, exercise, infection, and longevity treatment claims remain unestablished for people. This dossier is a research summary, not medical advice or self-treatment guidance.