RESEARCH REVIEW
MOTS-C and Metabolic Health
From mitochondrial peptide to human research
REVIEWED 2026-09-12UPDATED 2026-09-128 MIN READHuman, preclinical and review literature indexed by Femetric through September 2026
01
Executive snapshot
02
Research question
How far has MOTS-C research moved from mechanistic and animal models toward evidence in humans?
03
Mechanism
MOTS-C is encoded within mitochondrial DNA and has been studied as a signaling peptide linking cellular stress and metabolic regulation.
The indexed literature includes animal experiments, cell work and human association or expression observations. These categories answer different questions and are labeled separately.
04
Evidence in the indexed literature
Discovery and metabolic-homeostasis paperPreclinical models
- Population
- Cell and mouse models
- Protocol
- Experimental MOTS-C exposure
- Duration
- Model-dependent
- Primary outcome
- Metabolic homeostasis and insulin-resistance measures
- Result
- The publication established foundational preclinical findings; it does not provide a human-use protocol.
- Women included
- Not a female-participant clinical trial.
Exercise and age-dependent physical decline studyHuman cohorts plus preclinical models
- Population
- Human observational samples and experimental models
- Protocol
- Exercise-associated measurement; experimental work in models
- Duration
- Study-specific
- Primary outcome
- MOTS-C response and physical-function biology
- Result
- The paper linked MOTS-C with exercise biology and included human observations alongside experimental evidence.
- Women included
- Female representation requires direct table extraction before Femetric will report a percentage.
Plasma metabolites and insulin sensitivityPreclinical models
- Population
- Experimental models
- Protocol
- Experimental MOTS-C exposure
- Duration
- Model-dependent
- Primary outcome
- Plasma metabolites and insulin sensitivity
- Result
- The findings add mechanistic context but do not establish outcomes from administered MOTS-C in humans.
- Women included
- Not a female-participant clinical trial.
06
What the research currently supports
MOTS-C is a legitimate mitochondrial signaling research subject with a coherent preclinical literature and human observational context.
Femetric’s indexed sources do not establish a human administered-use protocol, clinical effectiveness or sex-specific dosing.
Registered human interventional trials, transparent pharmacokinetics and sex-stratified outcomes.
07
Key studies + full references
PRECLINICALThe mitochondrial-derived peptide MOTS-c promotes metabolic homeostasis and reduces obesity and insulin resistanceMOTS-C · Cell Metabolism · 2015REVIEWMOTS-c: A novel mitochondrial-derived peptide regulating muscle and fat metabolismMOTS-C · Free Radical Biology and Medicine · 2016PRECLINICALThe mitochondrial-derived peptide MOTS-c is a regulator of plasma metabolites and enhances insulin sensitivityMOTS-C · Physiological Reports · 2019HUMANMOTS-c is an exercise-induced mitochondrial-encoded regulator of age-dependent physical decline and muscle homeostasisMOTS-C · Nature Communications · 2021