Nature paper ties MOTS-c to retinal vessel protection through PLA2G6

The wire

1. 01Researchers report MOTS-c expression localizes mainly to retinal endothelial cells, and treatment preserved the endothelial barrier and mitochondrial function in high-glucose human cells and streptozotocin-diabetic mice.
2. 02Readers tracking mitochondrial-derived peptides get a defined mechanism, phospholipase A2 activity and phospholipid metabolism via PLA2G6, for a candidate aimed at early diabetic retinopathy.
3. 03Findings are confined to cell culture and a mouse model with no human dosing, delivery route or safety data, so clinical relevance remains unestablished.

From the source

Mitochondrial-derived peptide MOTS-c rescues vascular endothelial damage via PLA2G6 in diabetic retinopathy

As the predominant microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus that leads to blindness, diabetic retinopathy (DR) still presents a challenge due to the scarcity of effective therapeutic approaches, particularly in its early stage. Here, we observed that the expression of the mitochondrial open-reading-frame of the 12 S rRNA-c (MOTS-c), a mitochondrial-derived peptide, was predominantly localiz