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Private Peptides

Notes from the small print

Private Peptides reading list

The published sources behind the fragments, the mitochondrial signal and the clinical endpoints.

AOD-9604 literature

The human safety and tolerability report is the useful starting point for the clinical history. The 1983 ACC experiment and 2001 mouse knockout study provide the earlier mechanistic context. The rabbit osteoarthritis experiment asks a separate preclinical question.

MOTS-c literature

For orientation, the 2023 review gathers the mitochondrial encoding, metabolic and stress biology. I’d read the nuclear-signaling paper beside the dialysis cohort: the model and the measured question differ sharply. The CK2 study identifies a direct molecular target in cell-free assays, with muscle effects examined in mice.

Retatrutide literature

The obesity trial, diabetes trial and liver-fat substudy deserve separate consideration. The structural receptor study explains the uneven triple agonism. I turn back to the individual studies after the 2025 pharmacology review supplies the larger picture.

  1. Kwon DR, Park GY. Effect of Intra-articular Injection of AOD9604 with or without Hyaluronic Acid in Rabbit Osteoarthritis Model. Annals of Clinical and Laboratory Science. 2015;45(4):426-432. ↗
  2. More MI, Kenley D. Safety and Metabolism of AOD9604, a Novel Nutraceutical Ingredient for Improved Metabolic Health. Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism. 2014;4(3):64-77. ↗
  3. Stier H, Vos E, Kenley D. Safety and Tolerability of the Hexadecapeptide AOD9604 in Humans. Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism. 2013;3(1-2):7-15. ↗
  4. Heffernan M, Summers RJ, Thorburn A, Ogru E, Gianello R, Jiang WJ, Ng FM. The effects of human GH and its lipolytic fragment (AOD9604) on lipid metabolism following chronic treatment in obese mice and beta(3)-AR knock-out mice. Endocrinology. 2001;142(12):5182-5189. ↗
  5. Heffernan MA, Thorburn AW, Fam B, Summers R, Conway-Campbell B, Waters MJ, Ng FM. Increase of fat oxidation and weight loss in obese mice caused by chronic treatment with human growth hormone or a modified C-terminal fragment. International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders. 2001;25(10):1442-1449. ↗
  6. Ng FM, Sun J, Sharma L, Libinaka R, Jiang WJ, Gianello R. Metabolic studies of a synthetic lipolytic domain (AOD9604) of human growth hormone. Hormone Research. 2000;53(6):274-278. ↗
  7. Bornstein J, Ng FM, Heng D, Wong KP. Metabolic actions of pituitary growth hormone. I. Inhibition of acetyl CoA carboxylase by human growth hormone and a carboxyl terminal part sequence acting through a second messenger. Acta Endocrinologica (Copenhagen). 1983;103(4):479-486. ↗
  8. Kumagai H, Kim SJ, Miller B, et al. MOTS-c modulates skeletal muscle function by directly binding and activating CK2. iScience. 2024;27(11):111212. ↗
  9. Bolignano D, Greco M, Presta P, Duni A, et al. The Mitochondrial-Derived Peptide MOTS-c May Refine Mortality and Cardiovascular Risk Prediction in Chronic Hemodialysis Patients: A Multicenter Cohort Study. Blood Purification. 2024;53(10):824-837. ↗
  10. Wan W, Zhang L, Lin Y, Rao X, Wang X, Hua F, Ying J. Mitochondria-derived peptide MOTS-c: effects and mechanisms related to stress, metabolism and aging. Journal of Translational Medicine. 2023;21(1):36. ↗
  11. Reynolds JC, Lai RW, Woodhead JST, Joly JH, Mitchell CJ, Cameron-Smith D, Lu R, Cohen P, Graham NA, Benayoun BA, Merry TL, Lee C. MOTS-c is an exercise-induced mitochondrial-encoded regulator of age-dependent physical decline and muscle homeostasis. Nature Communications. 2021;12(1):470. ↗
  12. Kim KH, Son JM, Benayoun BA, Lee C. The Mitochondrial-Encoded Peptide MOTS-c Translocates to the Nucleus to Regulate Nuclear Gene Expression in Response to Metabolic Stress. Cell Metabolism. 2018;28(3):516-524.e7. ↗
  13. Katsi V, Koutsopoulos G, Fragoulis C, Dimitriadis K, Tsioufis K. Retatrutide-A Game Changer in Obesity Pharmacotherapy. Biomolecules. 2025;15:796. ↗
  14. Li W, Zhou Q, Cong Z, Yuan Q, Li W, Zhao F, Xu HE, Zhao LH, Yang D, Wang MW. Structural insights into the triple agonism at GLP-1R, GIPR and GCGR manifested by retatrutide. Cell Discovery. 2024;10:77. ↗
  15. Sanyal AJ, Kaplan LM, Frias JP, Brouwers B, Wu Q, Thomas MK, Harris C, Schloot NC, Du Y, Mather KJ, Haupt A, Hartman ML. Triple hormone receptor agonist retatrutide for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: a randomized phase 2a trial. Nature Medicine. 2024;30:2037-2048. ↗
  16. Jastreboff AM, et al. Triple-Hormone-Receptor Agonist Retatrutide for Obesity - A Phase 2 Trial. N Engl J Med. 2023;389(6):514-526. ↗
  17. Rosenstock J, et al. Retatrutide, a GIP, GLP-1 and glucagon receptor agonist, for people with type 2 diabetes: a randomised, double-blind, placebo and active-controlled, parallel-group, phase 2 trial. Lancet. 2023;402(10401):529-544. ↗