The Mitochondrial-Derived Peptide MOTS-c Promotes Metabolic Homeostasis and Reduces Obesity and Insulin Resistance
Lee C, Zeng J, Drew BG, et al. (2015). Cell Metabolism.
Summary
The paper that identified MOTS-c. The authors found a short open reading frame inside the mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene encoding a 16-amino-acid peptide, and reported that it acts mainly on skeletal muscle, inhibiting the folate cycle and the purine synthesis tethered to it, which in turn activates AMPK. In mice, MOTS-c treatment prevented the insulin resistance that comes with age and with a high-fat diet, and prevented diet-induced obesity. Cell and mouse work; the finding of interest is that the mitochondrial genome encodes a signalling peptide at all.