MOTS-c.
A 16-amino-acid peptide encoded within the mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene — the first peptide transcribed from mitochondrial DNA to travel to the nucleus and regulate gene expression. Circulating levels rise with aerobic exercise; exogenous administration replicates those effects.
Want the full narrative? Read the MOTS-c Research Guide for the published-study discussion and mechanism deep-dive.
- Key Signals
- Metabolism · Exercise · Longevity
- Origin
- Endogenous (mitochondrial genome)
- Investigator
- Lee et al. (USC), 2015
- Class
- Mitochondrial-derived peptide (MDP)
- Status (UAE)
- Research compound (pre-clinical)
The message from the mitochondria.
Lee et al. identify MOTS-c encoded not in nuclear DNA but within the mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene — the first mitochondrial hormone.
Circulating MOTS-c rises during aerobic exercise. Exogenous administration replicates metabolic training benefits in rodents — without exercise itself.
No human trial programme has been initiated. Animal models show lifespan extension, AMPK activation, and insulin sensitisation — novel, fast-moving.
Mitochondria writing to the nucleus.
Met-Arg-Trp-Gln-Glu-Met-Gly-Tyr
Ile-Phe-Tyr-Pro-Arg-Lys-Leu-Arg
C₁₀₁H₁₅₃N₂₉O₂₄ · MW 2174 Da
Encoded within the mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene — the only known peptide from mitochondrial DNA to regulate nuclear gene expression. Naturally circulates in blood; levels are elevated by aerobic exercise.
Animal models first, humans next.
Strong rodent data across multiple labs. No human trial has been initiated yet.
- AMPK activation confirmed
- Insulin sensitivity improved
- Adiposity reduced (HFD model)
- Lifespan extension (mice)
- Exercise-equivalent metabolics
- Retrograde mito-nuclear signal
- NF-κB suppression
- GLUT4 upregulation
- Cognitive gains (aged rodents)
- Human exercise mimetic
- Frailty / sarcopenia reversal
- Neurodegenerative disease
- Human longevity
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Mechanism deep-dive and research dosing protocols — available to registered researchers. It's free and takes under a minute.
The newest signal in this catalogue.
In the UAE, research-grade peptides occupy a defined regulatory category distinct from licensed medicines. Compounds sold under this classification — including those offered by Dubai Peptides — are intended exclusively for qualified research applications, not for human administration.
MOTS-c is the most frontier compound here — discovered in 2015, with no human trial programme yet initiated. The mechanism is genuinely novel: a peptide encoded in mitochondrial DNA that travels to the nucleus and alters gene expression. Animal models show consistent AMPK activation, improved insulin sensitivity, and lifespan extension. The absence of trial data reflects the field's age, not flaws.
Lee et al. (USC) identify MOTS-c within mitochondrial 12S rRNA — the first mitochondrial hormone described.
Circulating MOTS-c confirmed to rise with aerobic exercise in humans — the exercise signal established.
Rodent studies expanding to cognition, longevity, and inflammation. No IND filed. Human data: none yet.