A 16-amino-acid peptide encoded by mitochondrial DNA rather than the cell's main genome — a message the mitochondrion sends to the rest of the cell and body. Levels appear to rise with exercise and decline with age.
Most peptides are instructions from the cell's main genome. MOTS-c is unusual: it's encoded by mitochondrial DNA, so it's often described as a message the mitochondrion itself sends outward — a "mitochondrial-derived peptide," or mitokine.
The best-supported story is that MOTS-c helps switch on AMPK, the cell's energy sensor — the switch that says "stop storing energy, start using it." MOTS-c appears to do this by interfering with the folate–methionine cycle, which raises a molecule called AICAR and activates AMPK.
Downstream, researchers report:
Put simply: MOTS-c doesn't mainly rebuild the machinery — it tells it to start up and run in a more exercise-like, metabolically flexible mode.
Human clues exist — MOTS-c levels rise with exercise — but large clinical outcome trials are still limited.
Educational and editorial content only. Not medical advice. MOTS-c is discussed here as a research compound; content may describe emerging research not approved for clinical use.