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Compound guide
MOTS-c: what the research covers
A sixteen-residue peptide encoded not in the nucleus but in mitochondrial DNA. It was the discovery that the mitochondrial genome produces signalling peptides at all that made it interesting.
What MOTS-c is
Mitochondria carry their own small circular genome, long assumed to encode only the handful of proteins needed for oxidative phosphorylation plus the associated RNAs. MOTS-c — mitochondrial open reading frame of the twelve S ribosomal RNA type-c — is a sixteen amino acid peptide translated from an open reading frame within that 12S rRNA gene.
That finding reframed the organelle. A mitochondrion that encodes a peptide which travels to the nucleus and influences nuclear gene expression is not simply a power plant; it is a participant in cellular signalling. MOTS-c is the best characterised of the mitochondrial-derived peptides and the reason the category exists.
The reported mechanism runs through the folate and purine biosynthesis pathway, with accumulation of an intermediate that activates AMP-activated protein kinase — the cell principal energy sensor. Under metabolic stress the peptide has been shown to translocate to the nucleus and act on stress-response gene expression.
Why it belongs in longevity research
AMPK activation is the point of contact with the ageing literature. The same pathway is engaged by caloric restriction and by metformin, both of which have extended lifespan in model organisms, so a peptide that activates it from an unexpected direction attracts attention for reasons that go beyond metabolism.
Published strands cover insulin sensitivity and glucose handling in rodent models, exercise capacity and skeletal muscle metabolism, age-associated decline in circulating MOTS-c concentrations, and a human genetics observation: a MOTS-c variant has been associated with longevity in a Japanese cohort, which is suggestive rather than conclusive but is the kind of evidence that is hard to obtain.
Within this catalogue, SS-31 is the other compound whose literature centres on mitochondria, though it works on membrane integrity rather than on signalling, and NAD+ sits on the same metabolic axis from a different direction.
How Amino Club supplies it
Supplied lyophilised in sealed vials as MOTS-C, specified at 99% purity or better by HPLC with identity confirmed by mass spectrometry and released against the Certificate of Analysis for its own batch, as documented on the lab testing page.
The sequence is short and unmodified, so the dry powder tolerates ambient transit and is stored below −18 °C long term, while solutions are prepared in small working volumes and kept cold and dark. Diluent options are under reconstitution supplies.
Related reading
MOTS-c belongs to the longevity research peptides group with Epithalon, NAD+, SS-31, FOXO4-DRI, Thymalin and Thymosin Alpha-1, and its metabolic readouts connect it to the metabolic group.
Every guide is indexed in the research library. Certificates and storage are covered on the FAQ, quantity pricing through bulk and wholesale.
Research use only
MOTS-c supplied by Amino Club is a laboratory reference material. It is not a medicine, not a supplement, and not for human or veterinary use, and no dosing guidance or administration protocol is provided. The full terms are in the research use policy.