MOTS-c partially protects against skeletal muscle deterioration in C26 cachexia.

Male mice were injected with Colon-26 carcinoma cells to trigger cancer cachexia, a condition of severe muscle loss, and then given either MOTS-c or a salt-water vehicle twice a day for the study period. The researchers weighed the mice daily and, at the end, measured the mass of several muscles, including the quadriceps and gastrocnemius in the leg. They also examined muscle tissue for molecular markers linked to muscle breakdown and energy production. The paper reports that MOTS-c did not stop overall body weight or fat loss, but it did preserve quadriceps mass, which was about 12% heavier than in untreated tumor-bearing mice, and it reduced the activity of genes that drive muscle breakdown. The authors also found changes in signaling proteins that suggest MOTS-c encouraged the muscle cells to make more mitochondria, the energy-producing parts of cells.

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