Study record
Plasma mitochondrial derived peptides MOTS-c and SHLP2 positively associate with android and liver fat in people without diabetes
Sequeira IR, Woodhead JST, Chan A et al. · Biochim Biophys Acta Gen Subj · 2021
What this study reported
Found higher plasma MOTS-c and SHLP2 in participants with metabolic syndrome, with positive associations across blood pressure, fasting glucose, triglycerides and, most strongly, waist circumference. Android fat and specifically liver fat were positively associated with plasma MOTS-c, and levels were also higher in participants with raised liver damage markers and in mice fed a diet causing hepatic lipid accumulation.
Limitations
Cross-sectional design in a single predominantly male Chinese sample with a small separate female comparison group; MRI/S substudy is limited to women, and the mouse component uses one strain and sex.
Study record
| Study model | Human observational |
|---|---|
| Substance studied | Endogenous MOTS-c measuredNaturally occurring MOTS-c was measured; nothing was given. |
| Species | human, mouse |
| System studied | Chinese adults without diabetes or cardiovascular disease with DXA and MRI/S body-fat assessment, plus European Caucasian women and C57Bl/6j mice fed a liver-stressing diet |
| Population | adults without overt type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease |
| Design | Cross-sectional cohort with supporting animal experiment |
| Sample size as reported | 125 Chinese participants (91 male, 34 female) plus 34 European Caucasian female participants |
| Control group | participants without metabolic syndrome; control-diet mice |
| Route (data field only) | Not reported |
| Endpoints measured | plasma MOTS-c; plasma SHLP2; metabolic syndrome components; android and whole-body fat; liver and visceral fat; liver damage markers |
| Pathways measured | Lipid metabolism · Other |
| Research areas | Metabolic · Liver |
| Evidence tier | B — Other human study |
| Publication types | Journal Article, 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
- Human
- Sample size
- Adequate
- Controls
- Appropriate
- Outcome validity
- Validated biomarker
- 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.