Humanin Mechanism of Action
How Humanin works: receptor targets, signalling pathways, and molecular profile.
A Peptide Encoded Inside Mitochondria
Humanin is unusual among peptides in that it's encoded within mitochondrial DNA itself (the 16S rRNA region), not nuclear DNA — placing it, along with MOTS-c, in the small 'mitochondrial-derived peptide' family. It acts as a cytoprotective, anti-inflammatory signal, discovered specifically for its ability to rescue neurons from amyloid-beta toxicity in cell culture.
Cytoprotection Across Cell and Rodent Models
Beyond its original neuroprotective discovery, humanin has shown cytoprotective effects across various cell and rodent models of stress and injury, consistent with a broader role in cellular stress response tied to mitochondrial signaling — though this breadth of preclinical interest hasn't yet translated to human trial data.
References
- A rescue factor abolishing neuronal cell death by a wide spectrum of familial Alzheimer's disease genes and Abeta · Hashimoto Y, et al. · 2001