Informational only. Not medical advice.INFORMATIONAL PLATFORM ONLY — NOT MEDICAL ADVICE, DIAGNOSIS, OR TREATMENT
Informational only. Not medical advice.INFORMATIONAL PLATFORM ONLY — NOT MEDICAL ADVICE, DIAGNOSIS, OR TREATMENT
Head-to-head comparison of 3,5-Diiodo-L-thyronine (3,5-T2) and MOTS-c — mechanism, side effects, legal status, and pricing.
3,5-Diiodo-L-thyronine (3,5-T2) is a non-peptide endogenous iodothyronine produced by deiodination of T3 and T4. It is not an approved drug and has no registered human clinical trials as a study intervention. The only direct human-administration data come from a single 2-person case report. WADA/anti-doping status for 3,5-T2 specifically is unconfirmed; a 2019 secondary source suggested thyroid hormones as a class were not prohibited, but no current primary WADA citation was found.
MOTS-c is a 16-amino-acid mitochondrial-derived peptide (MDP) encoded within the mitochondrial 12S rRNA, discovered by Lee and Cohen at USC in 2015 (sequence: MRWQEMGYIFYPRKLR). It is an investigational, research-only peptide studied as a metabolic regulator; it has not been approved by the FDA for any indication.
3,5-Diiodo-L-thyronine (3,5-T2)
MOTS-c
Category
Legal Status
Mechanism
Half-life
Side Effects
COA-verified vendors · trust score ≥70 required · single-vial price — bulk/bundle deals may be lower
3,5-Diiodo-L-thyronine (3,5-T2)
No pricing data yet.
Check 3,5-Diiodo-L-thyronine (3,5-T2) prices →MOTS-c
COA corpus from Disclosed Labs — independently tested batches only.
3,5-Diiodo-L-thyronine (3,5-T2)
2
COAs
97.4%
Avg purity
2
Labs
MOTS-c
193
COAs
99.5%
Avg purity
16
Labs
No approved human drug or registered interventional clinical trial exists. The only direct human-administration data are from a single 2-person case report: oral 3,5-T2 (~5 μg/kg body weight) for 28 days reportedly raised resting metabolic rate by ~15% and lowered body weight by ~4 kg, with no significant changes in principal clinical parameters and no observed side effects. Endogenous 3,5-T2 has been measured in healthy human serum (~0.22–0.33 nM) and as a metabolite in liothyronine (T3) pharmacokinetic trials. Preclinical rodent studies show 3,5-T2 rapidly increases resting metabolic rate (faster than T3), reduces adiposity in high-fat-diet models by increasing fat oxidation, stimulates liver and skeletal muscle mitochondrial bioenergetics, and activates AMPK in skeletal muscle. One rat regimen (25 μg/100g BW, 4 weeks) showed no HPT-axis suppression or cardiac hypertrophy at that specific dose/duration; however, one mouse model (unsaturated-fat diet) showed no improvement in NAFLD or insulin sensitivity.
Key references
Lee et al. (Cell Metabolism, 2015; PMID 25738459) identified MOTS-c and showed that exogenous administration in mice prevented diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance via AMPK activation in skeletal muscle. Kim et al. (Cell Metabolism, 2018; PMID 29983246) demonstrated that MOTS-c translocates to the nucleus under metabolic stress and regulates antioxidant response element (ARE) genes. Reynolds et al. (Nature Communications, 2021; PMID 33473109) reported that exercise induces MOTS-c in human skeletal muscle and that MOTS-c treatment improved physical capacity in young, middle-aged, and aged mice. Human clinical data are limited to CohBar's Phase 1a/1b study of the analog CB4211 in healthy volunteers and obese NAFLD subjects, which reported acceptable tolerability and exploratory signals on ALT/AST and glucose; CohBar wound down the program in 2023. No completed Phase 2 or Phase 3 trials exist for MOTS-c or its analogs, and grey-market dosing (typically ~10 mg SubQ 2-3x/week) is not clinically validated.
3,5-Diiodo-L-thyronine (3,5-T2) and MOTS-c are both in the Metabolic category and may have overlapping mechanisms. Researchers should review both profiles carefully, understand the mechanisms of action, and monitor the relevant biomarkers when combining compounds in the same class. As always, consult a licensed healthcare provider before making any decisions about combining research compounds.
This platform provides informational tools only, not medical advice. This comparison is for educational purposes only. Consult a licensed provider.
Contraindications
Lab Testing
Key references
Disclosed Labs