MOTS-c — a peptide encoded outside the nuclear genome

MOTS-c identity data

What mitochondrial-derived means

Almost every peptide sold for research corresponds to a sequence encoded in nuclear DNA. This one is read from an open reading frame inside the mitochondrial 12S ribosomal RNA gene — a separate, much smaller genome carried in the mitochondria.

For a buyer the relevance is narrow but real: it is a comparatively recent addition to the literature, first described in 2015, so there is less published characterisation to compare a COA against than for a compound studied since the 1990s. Identity verification rests more heavily on the CAS number and the mass than on familiarity.

Retrograde signalling: the direction that makes this class unusual

Nuclear DNA encodes the great majority of mitochondrial proteins, so the ordinary flow of information runs nucleus to mitochondrion. Mitochondrial-derived peptides are described in the literature as running the other way — encoded in the mitochondrial genome and acting outside it.

That reversed direction is what makes the class interesting to researchers rather than merely unusual, and it is why the encoding location covered above is a mechanistic fact rather than trivia.

What the metabolic studies describe

The published work indexed in the research library examines metabolic pathways in cell-culture and rodent models, with AMP-activated protein kinase signalling the pathway most frequently described. AMPK is a cellular energy sensor, which fits the class's proposed role as a signal about mitochondrial state.

The literature is recent — the peptide was first described in 2015 — and it is preclinical. A decade of animal and cell work is a thin base compared with compounds studied since the 1990s, and it means there is less independent replication behind any given claim about this compound than about most others in this catalog.

The methionine governs storage

The single sulfur atom in C82H134N22O22S is a methionine residue. Methionine oxidises more readily than any other amino acid, adding 16 Da to the mass and usually appearing as a shoulder on the leading edge of the main HPLC peak rather than a distinct impurity peak.

• ◆Store dark and cold; light and dissolved oxygen both accelerate the route.
• ◆On a COA, look at peak shape rather than the purity number alone — an oxidised species that co-elates can be hidden inside a high area percent.
• ◆Minimise time in solution. Oxidation proceeds far faster in aqueous solution than in a dry lyophilized cake.

Reconstitution arithmetic for MOTS-c

A 10 mg vial in 2 mL gives 5 mg/mL nominal, which at 2174.61 g/mol is about 2.75 mM. As always the labelled mass is peptide content rather than gross vial weight, so the real figure sits below the nominal by the counter-ion and residual moisture fraction.

What the MOTS-c literature examined

Published research on this peptide is primarily cell-culture and rodent work examining metabolic pathways, beginning with its identification in 2015. The research library on this site indexes the primary sources; the work is preclinical and no human clinical approval exists.