Study record
MOTS-c attenuates airway barrier dysfunction in allergic asthma by inhibiting epithelial apoptosis via Nrf2 pathway
Zhang W, Li S, Zhang Y et al. · Int Immunopharmacol · 2025
What this study reported
Found lower serum MOTS-c in adults with asthma than in healthy volunteers. Reported that administered MOTS-c was associated with less lung tissue damage, inflammation, oxidative stress and mitochondrial damage, and with altered airway barrier protein expression, in house dust mite-stimulated mice and in BEAS-2B cells, and that these differences depended on Nrf2 in knockout mice.
Limitations
Human component is a small, undescribed serum comparison with no reported n; animal work uses one mouse strain and one allergen model, and the cell work a single bronchial epithelial line at a supraphysiological exposure.
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 | C57BL/6 and Nrf2-knockout mice given house dust mite; BEAS-2B bronchial epithelial cells; serum from adults with asthma and volunteers |
| Population | Adults with asthma and healthy volunteers providing serum for MOTS-c measurement |
| Design | Controlled animal and cell experiments with a serum biomarker comparison |
| Sample size as reported | not reported |
| Control group | Healthy volunteers; untreated house dust mite-stimulated mice and cells; Nrf2-knockout mice |
| Route (data field only) | Not reported |
| Endpoints measured | serum MOTS-c; lung histology and injury; airway epithelial barrier proteins; mitochondrial function markers; oxidative stress and inflammation; epithelial apoptosis |
| Pathways measured | NRF2 / antioxidant response · Apoptosis · Oxidative stress · Inflammation |
| Research areas | Lung · Inflammation & immunity · 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.