MOTS-c

Relevance to Vision Research

Retinal metabolic stress is a recurring theme in vision research, and MOTS-c is studied as a mitochondrial-derived regulator of metabolic homeostasis. Direct ocular data is more limited and is noted as such.

An animated map of the visual pathway, from the eye through the brain to the systemic processes of aging. Highlighted nodes mark the structures MOTS-c is studied against.

Illustrative research map : highlighted structures reflect the published in-vitro / preclinical literature, not human outcomes.

Summaries of observations reported in published in-vitro and preclinical research. These are research-model findings, not established human outcomes, and not claims of benefit, safety, or efficacy. Supplied for laboratory research use only.

A peptide the mitochondrion writes itself

For most of the twentieth century the mitochondrial genome was understood as a small, closed set of genes: thirteen proteins for the respiratory chain, plus the transfer and ribosomal RNAs needed to build them. MOTS-c complicated that picture. It is a 16-residue peptide whose open reading frame sits inside the 12S ribosomal RNA gene, encoded in mitochondrial DNA rather than nuclear DNA.

That location is the interesting part. It means the organelle is not only receiving instructions from the nucleus but producing a diffusible peptide of its own. The literature calls this retrograde signalling: information travelling outward from the mitochondrion to the rest of the cell, and MOTS-c is one of a small family of mitochondrial-derived peptides studied in that frame.

The reported mechanism runs through cellular energy sensing, with published work describing interactions with the AMPK pathway and effects on the folate and purine biosynthesis cycle in in-vitro and model-organism studies.

What the ocular evidence does and does not cover

This is the compound in the catalogue where the retinal literature is thinnest, and it would be dishonest to present it otherwise. Most published MOTS-c work concerns skeletal muscle, adipose tissue, and systemic metabolic regulation. Direct ocular data is limited.

The reason it appears in a vision-focused catalogue at all is topical rather than demonstrated: retinal tissue is metabolically extreme, retinal metabolic stress is a recurring theme in the literature, and a mitochondrially-encoded regulator of metabolic homeostasis is a reasonable thing to want a characterised standard of. Our note on MOTS-c and the retinal microenvironment sets out what exists, and the structural docking work is here.

What this vial is for

Catalogued as a sequence-defined peptide reference standard for metabolic-signalling assays: AMPK pathway activity work, mitochondrial-derived peptide detection and quantification, antibody validation, and mass-spectrometry method development where a characterised MOTS-c standard is needed.

At 16 residues with an internal methionine and tryptophan, the peptide is more oxidation-prone than the shorter sequences in this catalogue. Identity is confirmed by LC-MS and purity by HPLC to a ≥99% specification.

Why It Is Used

Molecular Identity

CAS Number

1627580-64-6

Molecular Formula

C₁₀₁H₅₃N₂₅O₂₂S₂

Molecular Weight

2174.5 g/mol

Sequence

16-residue mitochondrial-derived peptide (MRWQEMGYIFYPRKLR)

Purity

≥ 99.0% (HPLC, area)

Format

Lyophilized powder, vacuum-sealed vial

Analytical Specification

Research Context

MOTS-c is a 16-amino-acid peptide encoded within the mitochondrial 12S rRNA region, studied in the literature as a regulator of metabolic homeostasis with reported AMPK-pathway interactions in in-vitro and model-organism work. Catalogued here as a sequence-defined peptide reference standard for metabolic-signaling assays.