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LongevityAnimal / preclinical only

MOTS-c

Mitochondrial-derived peptide encoded in the 12S rRNA. Preclinical data on insulin sensitivity, exercise capacity, and metabolic health. No FDA approval. Human data limited to small studies.

Educational only — not medical advice. SmartPeptide does not prescribe, diagnose, or treat. Always consult a licensed healthcare provider before using any peptide, supplement, medication, or protocol.

What the research shows

Rodent and in-vitro work suggests MOTS-c improves insulin sensitivity and modulates metabolic pathways via AMPK. Lee et al. (Cell Metab 2015) is the foundational paper.

What's still experimental

Virtually all human use is experimental. Dose-finding, route of administration, and durability of effect are unestablished.

Anecdotal / community reports

Heavy community interest for 'longevity stacks'. Self-reported energy/recovery improvements are common but uncontrolled.

Anecdotal reports are NOT scientific evidence. They reflect personal experience and may not generalize.

FDA approval status

Source: openFDA + DailyMed (NIH/NLM)
No FDA-approved drug label exists for “MOTS-c”. This peptide is not currently approved by the FDA as a finished pharmaceutical product. Any commercial product claiming FDA approval should be treated with suspicion.

Doses studied in research

No established dose range

What published trials tested or FDA-approved labels specify. Reporting research facts — not a SmartPeptide recommendation.

No FDA-approved or established trial dose range for this peptide. Anecdotal ranges discussed in community forums exist but are not supported by published clinical trials, and SmartPeptide will not publish unverified doses.

This is the honest answer for peptides like BPC-157, IGF-1 LR3, MOTS-c, Epitalon and similar research compounds — robust human dose- ranging studies have not been published. Always work with a licensed clinician familiar with experimental peptides if you are considering any use.

FDA enforcement & recalls

Live · openFDA Drug Enforcement API
No FDA enforcement actions (recalls, market withdrawals, safety alerts) on record for “MOTS-c”. This is the expected baseline for most peptides — the absence of recalls does NOT imply general safety, only that no formal FDA enforcement has been initiated against approved formulations.

Mechanism & targets

ChEMBL · UniProt · Open Targets

Molecule (ChEMBL)

View on ChEMBL
Formula
C54H46Cl4N6O12

Protein targets (UniProt)

  • Mitochondrial-derived peptide MOTS-c
    A0A0C5B5G6gene: MT-RNR1Homo sapiens· 16 aaReviewed

    Regulates insulin sensitivity and metabolic homeostasis (PubMed:25738459, PubMed:33468709). Inhibits the folate cycle, thereby reducing de novo purine biosynthesis which leads to the accumulation of the de novo purine synthesis intermediate 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide (AICAR) and the activation of the metabolic regulator 5'-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) (PubMed:25738459). Protects against age-dependent and diet-induced insulin resistance as well as diet-induced obesity (PubMed:25738459)…

  • Cyclic AMP-dependent transcription factor ATF-1
    P18846gene: ATF1Homo sapiens· 271 aaReviewed

    This protein binds the cAMP response element (CRE) (consensus: 5'-GTGACGT[AC][AG]-3'), a sequence present in many viral and cellular promoters. Binds to the Tax-responsive element (TRE) of HTLV-I. Mediates PKA-induced stimulation of CRE-reporter genes. Represses the expression of FTH1 and other antioxidant detoxification genes. Triggers cell proliferation and transformation

  • Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2
    Q16236gene: NFE2L2Homo sapiens· 605 aaReviewed

    Transcription factor that plays a key role in the response to oxidative stress: binds to antioxidant response (ARE) elements present in the promoter region of many cytoprotective genes, such as phase 2 detoxifying enzymes, and promotes their expression, thereby neutralizing reactive electrophiles (PubMed:11035812, PubMed:19489739, PubMed:29018201, PubMed:31398338). In normal conditions, ubiquitinated and degraded in the cytoplasm by the BCR(KEAP1) complex (PubMed:11035812, PubMed:15601839, PubMe…

Live research

PubMed · ClinicalTrials.gov · Europe PMC · OpenAlex
PubMed papers
247
total
Human studies
137
MeSH: humans
Clinical trials
5
published
Active trials
5
9 total registered

Recent PubMed studies

Search "MOTS-c" on PubMed

Clinical trials (ClinicalTrials.gov)

All trials for "MOTS-c"

Europe PMC — 9,485 additional records

Includes EU/UK studies and PubMed Central full-text articles. Often surfaces research weeks before PubMed indexes it.

Research volume (OpenAlex topic graph)

Total works
495,977
all years
Last 5 years
145,675
recent activity
Open access
484,209
freely readable
OA share
98%
of all works

Human clinical evidence

Semantic Scholar · AI TLDRs · influence-ranked
Total indexed
20,685,249
all human + lab studies
Meta-analyses
0
highest evidence
Systematic reviews
1
quality-weighted
Clinical trials
0
published RCTs etc.

Most influential human studies

Ranking blends meta-analysis > systematic review > clinical trial weight with influential-citation count and recency. AI TLDRs by Semantic Scholar / Allen Institute for AI.

Research funding & verification

NIH RePORTER · CrossRef DOI registry

NIH-funded research

U.S. National Institutes of Health
Funded projects
406,564
all years
Top award sum
$1562.9M
aggregate USD
Years covered
24
research span
Largest active / recent grants

Publication landscape

CrossRef · DOI registry
Indexed works (CrossRef)
12,473
all DOIs registered
Retracted papers
0
no retractions on record
Top funders of indexed research
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China39 works
  • Horizon 202011 works
  • Ministère des Affaires Etrangères10 works
  • Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique10 works
  • National Institutes of Health6 works
  • American Federation for Aging Research5 works

Funder diversity is a credibility signal. Research concentrated in a single drug company's funding warrants more scrutiny than research funded across NIH, charities, and academic grants.

Preprints — cutting edge

bioRxiv · medRxiv · via Europe PMC

Preprints have NOT been peer-reviewed. They are early research shared by authors before formal validation. Treat findings as preliminary.

Showing 6 of 37 preprints indexed by Europe PMC.

Known risks

Unknown long-term safety in humans. No structured pharmacovigilance.

Reported side effects

Sparse human reports; mostly injection-site irritation noted in anecdotal logs.

FDA adverse event reports (FAERS)

Updated quarterly by FDA
No reports found in the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System for “MOTS-c”. This is normal for research-only peptides that are not marketed as FDA-approved drugs.

What requires medical supervision

Without FDA approval or established human safety data, any use should be informed by a clinician familiar with experimental peptides.

Questions for your clinician

  • What's the strongest human evidence for my goal?
  • How do we evaluate baseline + response objectively?
  • What's our stop criteria?

Editorially curated references

Discussions about MOTS-c

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