Study record
MOTS-c is an exercise-induced mitochondrial-encoded regulator of age-dependent physical decline and muscle homeostasis
Reynolds JC, Lai RW, Woodhead JST et al. · Nat Commun · 2021
What this study reported
Reported that administered MOTS-c increased physical performance in young, middle-aged and old mice, and that treatment begun in late life increased physical capacity and healthspan measures in mice. In humans, exercise was associated with higher endogenous MOTS-c expression in skeletal muscle and in circulation.
Limitations
Animal work used a single mouse strain with limited sex reporting, the human component is a small observational measurement rather than an intervention with MOTS-c, and healthspan outcomes are composite functional surrogates.
Study record
| Study model | Animal study (in vivo) |
|---|---|
| Substance studied | SeveralMore than one of these is central to the paper (common for reviews). |
| Species | mouse, human |
| System studied | Young, middle-aged and old mice given MOTS-c, mouse myoblasts, and skeletal muscle and circulation from exercising humans |
| Population | Not reported |
| Design | Controlled animal experiment with supporting cell and human exercise measurements |
| Sample size as reported | Not reported |
| Control group | untreated age-matched mice |
| Route (data field only) | Not reported |
| Endpoints measured | physical performance; healthspan measures; nuclear gene expression; skeletal muscle metabolism; circulating and muscle MOTS-c |
| Pathways measured | Nuclear translocation · AMPK signalling · SIRT1 / PGC-1α / biogenesis |
| Research areas | Aging · Exercise · Skeletal muscle · Mitochondrial biology |
| Evidence tier | C — Animal in vivo |
| Publication types | Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't |
Appraisal
Each dimension is recorded separately and never combined into a single score. A study can be well controlled and still tell you little about people.
- Relevance to MOTS-c
- Direct
- Model applicability
- Mammalian
- Sample size
- Not reported
- Controls
- Appropriate
- Outcome validity
- Surrogate
- Support for its own conclusion
- Moderate
Provenance
- Bibliographic fields retrieved from PubMed E-utilities efetch (title, journal, date, authors, DOI) on 2026-11-11.
- Annotated from the published abstract.
- Editorial review: approved (2026-11-11).
- Classification follows the site methodology; the record describes the study, not what MOTS-c does in people.