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What the registry records show · Updated October 13, 2026
MOTS-c peptide is a 16-amino-acid mitochondrial-derived peptide, first described in 2015. As of October 2026, a ClinicalTrials.gov search for it returns nine records. Five name MOTS-c as a biomarker to measure, three only involve the gene region that encodes it, and one lists it as a drug from a sponsor this guide could not verify.
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MOTS-c is encoded inside the 12S rRNA gene of mitochondrial DNA, and its metabolic record comes mainly from cell and mouse work.
Of the nine records, five measure MOTS-c levels, three involve its host gene, MT-RNR1, and one lists MOTS-c as an administered drug.
That administration record, NCT07505745, comes from a sponsor whose other filings share one site and one contact, so this guide counts it as unverified.
Measuring a peptide in people and giving it to people are different questions, and the MOTS-c peptide has so far been studied in people almost entirely in the first way.
MOTS-c stands for mitochondrial open reading frame of the 12S rRNA-c. A 2015 Cell Metabolism paper reported a short open reading frame inside the mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene that codes for a peptide 16 amino acids long. In cell and mouse experiments, the authors found that it inhibits folate metabolism and the linked purine synthesis, which leads to AMPK activation, and that skeletal muscle appears to be its main target tissue.
MOTS-c belongs to a small group of mitochondrial-derived peptides, signaling peptides encoded in mitochondrial DNA instead of the nuclear genome. Humanin was identified earlier, and one of the registry records below tracks both. The full research-record review covers the same registry search in more detail.
The ClinicalTrials.gov MOTS-c search returned nine records on October 13, 2026. Five name the peptide as a biomarker, three concern its host gene and one lists administration. This grouping describes the records' text, rather than nine verified trials giving MOTS-c to participants.
Registry record NCT04013568: an exercise program after a breast cancer diagnosis (University of Hawaii, completed). MOTS-c appears in its biomarker list.
Registry record NCT07438002: an exercise trial in adults with chronic kidney disease. It lists MOTS-c among its mitochondrial biomarkers.
Registry record NCT07678073: a comparison of two anesthesia methods in kidney transplant surgery. Serum MOTS-c and humanin, measured by ELISA before induction and before extubation, are part of the primary outcome.
Registry record NCT04027712: a cohort of people with diabetes and coronary artery disease (University of Athens, status unknown). It asks whether blood MOTS-c concentration is associated with cardiovascular mortality over two years.
Registry record NCT03878706: a type 2 diabetes cohort, also from the University of Athens. MOTS-c is one of the blood markers measured at baseline, 6 months and 12 months.
Registry record NCT06500975: a vestibular implant study at Johns Hopkins University. Its outcome list includes genetic testing for abnormalities in MT-RNR1, the mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene.
Registry record NCT07638696: a Ramadan dry fasting study compared with 16:8 time-restricted feeding, not yet recruiting. It quantifies mitochondrial DNA copy number through the MT-RNR1 region.
Registry record NCT06133946: a newborn deafness-gene screening cohort in Nantong, China, that genotypes two MT-RNR1 variants.
The three host-gene records name MT-RNR1 and do not describe administration or measurement of MOTS-c. Their appearance in a MOTS-c search does not make them peptide trials.
Registry record NCT07505745, organization study ID EX-MOTS-2A-001 and acronym MOTS-MET, is a Phase 2a placebo-controlled study in adults with prediabetes and overweight or obesity. It started February 2, 2026, lists an estimated 120 participants and a 12-week double-blind phase, and names an insulin sensitivity index and adverse events as primary outcomes. The sponsor, Hudson Biotech, registered eight records that started in February 2026, each for a different compound. Every one lists a single site and a single contact person, and the TB-500 filing calls itself a fictional example. This guide cannot confirm that anyone has received MOTS-c in this study, so it counts the record as unverified.
Measuring the MOTS-c peptide answers a descriptive question: how the body's own supply moves around exercise, surgery or disease. A 2021 Nature Communications paper reported that exercise raises the body's own MOTS-c, both in human skeletal muscle and in blood. That may explain why two exercise trials list it as a biomarker.
The design is also easier to run. A level needs a blood or tissue sample and an assay. Giving the peptide usually needs a defined investigational material, a safety plan and regulatory clearance, which is a higher bar. The administration work cited here was done in mice. Among the nine records, none has been verified as a study in which people receive MOTS-c.
Use the COA reading guide to distinguish an identity result from HPLC purity and match both to the lot. The public lot lookup shows the reports for its listed materials.
Laboratory MOTS-c peptide material varies by manufacturer and by lot, so the documentation is the part a researcher can check. A useful certificate shows the lot number, the issuing laboratory, an HPLC purity result with the chromatogram, mass-spectrometry confirmation of identity against the calculated average mass of about 2,174.6 g/mol, and an endotoxin result where the lab runs one.
The independent laboratory testing page explains the fields reported on a lot certificate. The Coenzymes & Short Peptides category provides examples of catalogue entries to compare with their reports.
The ClinicalTrials.gov MOTS-c search returned nine records on October 13, 2026, but that does not mean nine trials administer the peptide. Five name MOTS-c as a biomarker, three concern MT-RNR1 and one lists MOTS-c administration. The administration listing has not been independently verified as a study conducted in participants.
MOTS-c stands for mitochondrial open reading frame of the 12S rRNA-c. The name points to where the peptide comes from: a short reading frame inside a mitochondrial gene. It is one of the mitochondrial-derived peptides, and the 2015 discovery paper described it as 16 amino acids long.
MOTS-MET exists as the ClinicalTrials.gov listing NCT07505745. Its sponsor, Hudson Biotech, also appears on a TB-500 listing whose summary calls it a fictional example. The registry entry alone cannot confirm that MOTS-MET is running or has enrolled participants. The TB-500 fragment guide explains why its parent-protein trials must also be checked separately.
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