MOTS-c Serum Concentration Positively Correlates with Lower-Body Muscle Strength and Is Not Related to Maximal Oxygen Uptake-A Preliminary Study.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Cross-sectional observational study with a single cohort
PubMed 37834399 · doi:10.3390/ijms241914951
What was done
Researchers evaluated the relationship between resting serum MOTS-c levels, muscle strength, body composition, and aerobic capacity in 20 physically active healthy volunteers (17 males, 3 females; median age 30 years). Participants underwent body composition analysis via bioelectrical impedance, five consecutive countermovement jump tests to assess lower-body force and power, and a cardiopulmonary exercise test to maximal exhaustion to determine peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak).
What was found
Resting serum MOTS-c concentration was positively correlated with countermovement jump average power, average force, maximal force, overall muscle mass, and leg muscle mass. MOTS-c levels did not correlate with body fat percentage or peak VO2. The abstract reports no numerical correlation coefficients (r-values) or p-values.
Why it matters
This preliminary study suggests that circulating MOTS-c levels may be linked specifically to skeletal muscle mass and anaerobic strength metrics rather than aerobic endurance capacity in healthy individuals.
Limits
The study is limited by a very small sample size (n = 20) with an uneven sex distribution (85% male). The cross-sectional design cannot demonstrate causality or mechanism, and the abstract omits all numerical values, confidence intervals, and significance levels for the reported correlations.
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