Humanin
Also known as HN, Mitochondrial-derived peptide, HNG (analog)
Humanin is a 24-residue mitochondrial-derived peptide encoded within the 16S rRNA region of mtDNA, studied in cellular-stress and aging research. A research-use profile with an accurate origin note.
Humanin is one of the more genuinely unusual entries in any peptide catalog: it is encoded inside mitochondrial DNA rather than in the cell nucleus. That single fact — a peptide written into the mitochondrial genome — is what makes it a 'mitochondrial-derived peptide,' and it is the reason it keeps company with molecules like MOTS-c.
But humanin and MOTS-c are not the same thing and do not come from the same place. Humanin is read from an open reading frame in the 16S rRNA (MT-RNR2) region; MOTS-c comes from a different region entirely. This page keeps those distinctions straight and describes the research contexts humanin appears in, without claiming outcomes.
Humanin is a small peptide encoded not by the nuclear genome but within the mitochondrial DNA — specifically an open reading frame in the 16S ribosomal RNA (MT-RNR2) region. This mitochondrial origin is what places it in the 'mitochondrial-derived peptide' (MDP) family. The mature peptide is 24 amino acids long.
A peptide written into mitochondrial DNA
Most peptides a lab handles trace back to nuclear genes. Humanin is different: its coding sequence sits within the mitochondrial 16S ribosomal RNA gene. Because mitochondria are the cell's energy organelles, a peptide encoded there has become a focal point for researchers interested in how mitochondria might signal to the rest of the cell.
The mature peptide is 24 residues. A commonly studied laboratory analog, sometimes written HNG, carries a single substitution that researchers use to make the molecule more tractable in experiments.
How it differs from MOTS-c
It is worth separating the two mitochondrial-derived peptides that get conflated most often. Humanin derives from the 16S rRNA (MT-RNR2) region and is 24 residues; MOTS-c derives from a different mitochondrial region and is shorter. They belong to the same MDP class and appear in overlapping research conversations, but they are distinct molecules with distinct origins.
The research contexts it appears in
In the literature, humanin is examined in cellular-stress and cytoprotection research, in mitochondrial signaling, and in aging research more broadly. These label where scientists have studied it — the systems and questions — rather than any effect being promised.
These are research areas the compound is associated with in the literature — not medical claims or intended uses.
Handling & storage
Supplied lyophilized. Kept sealed and cold; in research settings it is reconstituted with bacteriostatic water only when a protocol requires it, then refrigerated. Handle per accepted laboratory practice.
Verify a certificate by lot →Common questions
Its coding sequence lies within mitochondrial DNA — an open reading frame in the 16S rRNA (MT-RNR2) region — rather than in the nuclear genome. Peptides encoded in mtDNA are grouped as mitochondrial-derived peptides.
No. Both are mitochondrial-derived peptides, but humanin (24 residues) comes from the 16S rRNA region while MOTS-c comes from a different mitochondrial region and is shorter. They are distinct molecules studied in overlapping contexts.
HNG is a commonly referenced laboratory analog of humanin carrying a single amino-acid substitution that researchers use to make the peptide more workable in experiments.
This monograph is a research-use reference. It describes composition and the contexts in which the compound has been studied — it is not medical advice, a description of effects, or a recommendation for use. Sold strictly for laboratory and research use; not for human or animal consumption.