Study record
Mitochondrial-encoded MOTS-c prevents pancreatic islet destruction in autoimmune diabetes
Kong BS, Min SH, Lee C et al. · Cell Rep · 2021
What this study reported
Reported that administered MOTS-c reduced the development of hyperglycaemia and the number of islet-infiltrating immune cells in NOD mice, and that transfer of T cells from MOTS-c-treated NOD mice lowered diabetes incidence in NOD-SCID recipients. Serum MOTS-c was lower in people with type 1 diabetes than in healthy controls, and MOTS-c reduced activation and glycolytic stress of their T cells in culture.
Limitations
Animal work uses a single autoimmune-prone mouse strain without blinding details, the human component is a small cross-sectional comparison plus ex vivo cell work, and outcomes in mice do not establish human relevance.
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 | Non-obese diabetic mice given MOTS-c, adoptive transfer into NOD-SCID mice, and T cells and serum from people with type 1 diabetes |
| Population | Not reported |
| Design | Controlled animal experiment with adoptive transfer and human sample analysis |
| Sample size as reported | Not reported |
| Control group | untreated NOD mice and healthy human controls |
| Route (data field only) | Not reported |
| Endpoints measured | hyperglycaemia development; islet-infiltrating immune cells; diabetes incidence after T-cell transfer; TCR/mTORC1 signalling; serum MOTS-c; T-cell glycolysis |
| Pathways measured | AKT / mTOR / FOXO · Inflammation · Insulin & glucose handling |
| Research areas | Metabolic · Inflammation & immunity |
| 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.