Study record
Mitochondrial-derived peptides MOTS-c and humanin attenuate dexamethasone-induced atrophy in human skeletal muscle cells
Elhusseiny R, Ihsan M, Bellefroid T et al. · Physiol Rep · 2026
What this study reported
Reported that dexamethasone reduced myotube area and fusion index and increased MURF1 and MAFbx in primary human myotubes, and that co-treatment with MOTS-c preserved myotube area and fusion index, increased Akt phosphorylation and blunted MURF1 upregulation and STAT3 activation. S14G-humanin preserved myotube area and blunted STAT3 activation but did not change fusion index or E3 ligase mRNA.
Limitations
Cell culture only, with no in vivo confirmation; a single glucocorticoid stimulus at one supraphysiological peptide exposure; donor numbers not reported in the abstract.
Study record
| Study model | Cell study (in vitro) |
|---|---|
| Substance studied | SeveralMore than one of these is central to the paper (common for reviews). |
| Species | human |
| System studied | Differentiated primary human skeletal myotubes exposed to dexamethasone with MOTS-c or S14G-humanin |
| Population | Not reported |
| Design | Cell culture experiments |
| Sample size as reported | not reported |
| Control group | dexamethasone alone and untreated myotubes |
| Route (data field only) | in-culture |
| Endpoints measured | myotube area; fusion index; MURF1 and MAFbx expression; Akt phosphorylation; STAT3 activation; PGC-1alpha expression |
| Pathways measured | AKT / mTOR / FOXO · SIRT1 / PGC-1α / biogenesis · Other |
| Research areas | Skeletal muscle · Mitochondrial biology |
| Evidence tier | D — Cell, tissue or analytical |
| 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
- Cellular
- 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.