Study record
MOTS-c mimics exercise to combat diabetic liver fibrosis by targeting Keap1-Nrf2-Smad2/3
Chen F, Li Z, Wang T et al. · Sci Rep · 2025
What this study reported
Reported that administered MOTS-c, aerobic exercise, or their combination were each associated with less liver fibrosis in a rat model of type 2 diabetes. Found in cultured cells that MOTS-c overexpression or addition to the medium was associated with lower reactive oxygen species, higher Keap1-Nrf2 pathway mRNA and protein expression, and lower TGF-β1/Smad pathway gene expression.
Limitations
Male rats of a single strain and one chemically induced diabetes model; group sizes are not reported in the abstract; the cell work uses overexpression constructs rather than physiological exposure.
Study record
| Study model | Animal study (in vivo) |
|---|---|
| Substance studied | MOTS-c administeredSynthetic MOTS-c was given to cells, animals or people. |
| Species | rat |
| System studied | Male Sprague-Dawley rat model of type 2 diabetes with liver fibrosis; cultured cells transfected with MOTS-c constructs |
| Population | Not reported |
| Design | Controlled animal experiment with parallel cell culture experiments |
| Sample size as reported | not reported |
| Control group | Untreated diabetic rats with liver fibrosis; untransfected and untreated cells |
| Route (data field only) | Not reported |
| Endpoints measured | liver histology (HE and Masson staining); liver fibrosis scoring and immunohistochemistry; Keap1-Nrf2 pathway gene and protein expression; TGF-β1/Smad2/3/4 expression; reactive oxygen species levels; liver transcriptome |
| Pathways measured | NRF2 / antioxidant response · TGF-β / SMAD · Oxidative stress |
| Research areas | Liver · Metabolic · Exercise · Mitochondrial biology |
| Evidence tier | C — Animal in vivo |
| Publication types | Journal Article |
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.