Study record
MOTS-c reduces myostatin and muscle atrophy signaling
Kumagai H, Coelho AR, Wan J et al. · Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab · 2021
What this study reported
Found that plasma MOTS-c levels were inversely correlated with myostatin levels in human subjects, and reported that administered MOTS-c lowered plasma myostatin in diet-induced obese mice. In C2C12 myotubes, MOTS-c reduced palmitic-acid-induced atrophy signalling, with higher AKT phosphorylation and reduced FOXO1 activity via a CK2-PTEN-mTORC2 route.
Limitations
Human data are cross-sectional correlations in a modest sample, the mechanistic work relies on a single myotube line, and the mouse model used one strain of diet-induced obese animals with limited sex reporting.
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 | Diet-induced obese mice given MOTS-c, differentiated C2C12 myotubes exposed to palmitic acid, and plasma from human subjects |
| Population | Not reported |
| Design | Controlled animal experiment with cell culture experiments and human plasma correlations |
| Sample size as reported | Not reported |
| Control group | untreated obese mice and untreated myotubes |
| Route (data field only) | Not reported |
| Endpoints measured | plasma myostatin; muscle atrophy signalling; AKT phosphorylation; FOXO1 activity; PTEN and CK2 activity |
| Pathways measured | AKT / mTOR / FOXO · Insulin & glucose handling |
| Research areas | Skeletal muscle · Metabolic · Aging |
| 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.