The Peptide Atlas
MOTS-c
A 16-amino-acid peptide encoded not in your chromosomes but in your mitochondria, the energy factories inside cells.
Class
Mitochondrial-derived peptide
Evidence
Early research
Status
Studied in research settings.
Forms
Studied as injection
What people use it for
Metabolic fitness. The people interested in MOTS-c want what exercise gives: better insulin sensitivity, endurance, and energy metabolism, which is why it gets called an "exercise mimetic."
The signal
Your muscles release MOTS-c during exercise, and it acts as a messenger between the mitochondria and the rest of the cell, shifting metabolism toward burning fuel efficiently. Levels track with metabolic health: women with PCOS, for example, show reduced levels [2].
How it works
In the discovery research it activated AMPK, the same cellular energy sensor exercise and metformin act on, improving insulin sensitivity and preventing weight gain in mice on a high-fat diet [1].
What the research shows
The animal metabolism work is strong and the human data is observational: studies measure MOTS-c levels in people and find them linked to fitness and metabolic health [2]. Nobody has published a trial of giving MOTS-c to people.
What people get wrong
That "your body makes it during exercise" means injecting it does what exercise does. The human evidence is about levels, not injections, and exercise changes hundreds of signals at once.
References
- Lee C et al., Cell Metab (2015). The mitochondrial-derived peptide MOTS-c promotes metabolic homeostasis and reduces obesity and insulin resistance. PubMed
- Sci Rep (2026). Reduced serum and skeletal muscle MOTS-c levels in women with polycystic ovary syndrome. PubMed
Last reviewed 2026-08-24. Every reference is verified against the primary literature at review time. How the Atlas grades evidence