Molecular Structure Explorer
MOTS-c
Structure of the compound covered in this guide.
Last reviewed: October 2026 · Cleared Peptides research team
Research use only. MOTS-c: Research Guide to the Mitochondrial-Derived Peptide is supplied for laboratory research. It is not a drug, food, cosmetic, or dietary supplement. It is not FDA-approved. It is not for human or veterinary administration. This page does not give a dose or a method of administration. A study cited on this page describes that study’s own test article. It does not make this lot an approved medicine. To check a fact, open the PubMed or DOI link, confirm the authors and year, and match the paper’s compound name, CAS number, or sequence to the specification table. The full method is on the research desk page. Identity and purity for a lot are only what that lot’s certificate of analysis reports. An HPLC percentage is not a sterility result and not an endotoxin result unless the certificate prints those tests.
MOTS-c (mitochondrial open reading frame of the 12S rRNA type-c) is a 16-amino-acid peptide encoded within the mitochondrial genome. Described by Lee and colleagues in 2015, it belongs to the small family of mitochondrial-derived peptides (MDPs) that also includes humanin.
In this guide:
MOTS-c Sequence and Identifiers
| Name | MOTS-c |
|---|---|
| CAS number | 1627580-64-6 |
| PubChem CID | 146675088 |
| Molecular formula | C101H152N28O22S2 |
| Molecular weight | ≈2174.6 g/mol |
| Sequence | Met-Arg-Trp-Gln-Glu-Met-Gly-Tyr-Ile-Phe-Tyr-Pro-Arg-Lys-Leu-Arg (MRWQEMGYIFYPRKLR) |
| Length | 16 amino acids |
| Form | Lyophilized powder |
A Peptide Encoded by Mitochondrial DNA
Most cellular proteins are encoded in the nucleus. MOTS-c is unusual because its short open reading frame lies inside the mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene. Its discovery helped establish the idea that mitochondria can produce signaling peptides, and it is frequently compared with humanin, encoded within the 16S rRNA region.
Published In-Vitro Research Areas
- AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling in cultured cells
- Folate–methionine cycle metabolites and AICAR accumulation (compare AICAR)
- Stress-induced nuclear translocation and gene-expression regulation
- Comparative mitochondrial-function assays alongside SS-31
This summary describes laboratory research only and makes no claim about effects in humans or animals.
Research formats: MOTS-c and the MOTS-c + SS-31 research set. Lot COAs are on our COA page.
Research materials referenced in this guide
Analytical testing notes for MOTS-c
MOTS-c is identified in this guide as CAS 1627580-64-6, formula C101H152N28O22S2, listed mass ≈2174.6 g/mol. The sequence recorded here is Met-Arg-Trp-Gln-Glu-Met-Gly-Tyr-Ile-Phe-Tyr-Pro-Arg-Lys-Leu-Arg (MRWQEMGYIFYPRKLR). An identity test compares a measurement with those values. A mass spectrum is the usual measurement for a peptide. FTIR, when a certificate uses it, is a supporting infrared fingerprint and is less specific for closely related sequences.
For MOTS-c, routine chemical characterization is reversed-phase HPLC for area-percent purity and mass spectrometry for identity against the formula and mass in the table above. Oxidizable residues (cysteine, methionine, tryptophan) and deamidating residues (asparagine, glutamine), when the sequence contains them, are typical related-impurity questions for the chromatogram and the mass spectrum.
HPLC purity for this material is an area-percent result at the wavelength and gradient the laboratory states, commonly ultraviolet detection near 214 nm on a reversed-phase column. The instrument is a gradient pump, injector, column oven, and UV or diode-array detector. That percentage is not the number of milligrams in the vial. Water, acetate, trifluoroacetate, and other UV-silent material can dominate the gross weight while the purity figure stays high. Net peptide content, from an assay or amino-acid analysis, is the separate result to read when the certificate reports it.
A sterility test and an endotoxin test are not included in a chemical purity result. The compendial sterility test is a culture method (USP <71>): membrane filtration or direct inoculation into fluid thioglycollate medium and soybean-casein digest medium, incubated for 14 days. A PCR sterility screen uses a thermal cycler to detect microbial DNA and is a different method. The endotoxin test (USP <85> LAL, or USP <86> recombinant Factor C) reports endotoxin units with an incubating reader or a cartridge reader. Use a result only when that method is printed on the lot certificate. One published example in this catalog states that the report does not cover microbial contamination or endotoxins. The full description of equipment, standards, and how US laboratory accreditation works is in peptide analytical testing. Lot records are on the COA page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is MOTS-c?
MOTS-c is a 16-residue peptide encoded in the mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene (CAS 1627580-64-6), studied in cellular metabolism research.
What is the MOTS-c sequence?
MRWQEMGYIFYPRKLR (Met-Arg-Trp-Gln-Glu-Met-Gly-Tyr-Ile-Phe-Tyr-Pro-Arg-Lys-Leu-Arg).
Is MOTS-c for human use?
No. It is supplied for laboratory research use only.
Written by the Cleared Peptides Research Desk, the editorial desk of Cleared Wellness Group LLC. This is not a personal profile of a physician or a scientist, and it is not a fictional author. The checking method is public on the research desk page. Last reviewed October 2026.
MOTS-c research note: a mitochondrial 16-mer, made here by synthesis
Research use only. This MOTS-c material is for laboratory research, CAS 1627580-64-6. It is not a drug. Lee’s mouse experiments are not a protocol for this vial, and this page does not give a dose.
What Lee and colleagues defined
Lee, Zeng, Drew, Sallam, and colleagues (Cell Metabolism, 2015) reported a short open reading frame inside the mitochondrial 12S rRNA that encodes a 16-residue peptide they named MOTS-c, for mitochondrial open reading frame of the 12S rRNA type-c. They distinguish it from humanin, an earlier mitochondrial open-reading-frame peptide. The mechanism they propose is metabolic: the peptide acts on skeletal muscle, inhibits the folate cycle and the de novo purine synthesis tied to it, and activates AMPK. In mice, they report effects on age-dependent and diet-induced insulin resistance and on diet-induced obesity. Those are the paper’s experiments. PubMed 25738459, DOI 10.1016/j.cmet.2015.02.009.
The catalog sequence is the same 16 residues: Met-Arg-Trp-Gln-Glu-Met-Gly-Tyr-Ile-Phe-Tyr-Pro-Arg-Lys-Leu-Arg, formula C101H152N28O22S2, mass about 2174.6 g/mol. Two methionines and a tryptophan make oxidation products a real impurity question. The synthetic peptide in a vial was not translated by a mitochondrion. Mitochondrial origin in the paper is a genetic claim about the open reading frame. It is not a claim about how this lot was manufactured. Identity is the synthetic mass.
Not tesamorelin, and not SS-31
Tesamorelin is a 44-residue GHRH analogue studied by Falutz and colleagues as a drug in adults with HIV. There is no MOTS-c plus tesamorelin blend in this catalog. The reasons are written out in MOTS-c and tesamorelin. SS-31 is a four-residue cardiolipin-targeted peptide, mass about 639.8 g/mol. The research set of the two mitochondrial materials is MOTS-c + SS-31, sold as two articles, not as one sequence.
How to verify this note
- Open Lee 2015 and confirm the 12S rRNA open reading frame, the 16-residue length, and the AMPK / folate-cycle proposal.
- Match CAS 1627580-64-6 and both sulfur atoms in the formula (two methionines). Humanin is a different peptide.
- Keep mouse endpoints in the paper. Keep this lot on the certificate.
Selected References
Peer-reviewed literature on the compounds discussed in this guide, listed as scientific background for laboratory researchers. Citation does not imply endorsement by the authors or any use other than in-vitro research.
- Merry TL, et al. Mitochondrial-derived peptides in energy metabolism. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2020;319(4):E659-E666. PubMed 32776825 · DOI
- Woodhead JST, et al. Mitochondrial-derived peptides and exercise. Biochim Biophys Acta Gen Subj. 2021;1865(12):130011. PubMed 34520826 · DOI
Laboratory note: solubility depends on salt form and solvent. This guide does not state a single solubility figure. Handling of lyophilized material is described in the peptide storage guide.
Research Use Only Notice
This guide is provided for educational and laboratory reference purposes. It summarizes published, primarily in-vitro and structural research literature and does not describe, recommend or imply any use in humans or animals. Products sold by Cleared Peptides are for laboratory research use only; they are not drugs, foods, cosmetics or dietary supplements, are not FDA-approved, and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, mitigate or prevent any disease. No dosing, administration or therapeutic information is provided.
