Humanin
Humanin (Mitochondrial-Derived Peptide)
Also called Humanin, HN, mitochondrial-derived peptide
A mitochondrial-derived peptide with no human trial
Humanin was found in the brain tissue of a person with Alzheimer's disease, in the cells that had survived when the ones around them had not. It is coded by mitochondrial DNA rather than the DNA in the cell nucleus, and in laboratory work it acts as a survival signal cells send under stress. No human trial has tested it.
A small peptide encoded inside mitochondrial DNA, one of the first mitochondrial-derived peptides found. In laboratory and preclinical work it acts as a cell-protective and metabolic signal, and higher circulating levels have been associated with longevity in human observational studies. It has never been tested in a human trial.
- Status
- Not FDA-approved
Early research, mostly in the lab so far
What Humanin has been studied for
The reasons people look it up, roughly in order of how often, and what research exists for each. Interest in a use is not evidence that it works; the evidence is stated under each one.
- Neuroprotection
- The reason it was discovered and the bulk of the research. In laboratory work it protects neurons from the kind of damage seen in Alzheimer's, which is why it is being studied there.
- Ageing
- Levels fall with age, and people who live unusually long tend to have higher levels. It is one of the more interesting correlations in longevity research and it is still a correlation.
- Metabolic health
- It improved insulin sensitivity in preclinical work, as did its mitochondrial cousin MOTS-c.
Mechanism of Action
How Humanin works
Humanin is a signal from the mitochondria to the rest of the cell:
- Cell protection. In laboratory work it protects neurons and other cells from programmed death and oxidative or metabolic stress.
- Metabolic signalling. In preclinical work it improved insulin sensitivity and mitochondrial function.
- Longevity association. Circulating humanin declines with age, and higher levels have been observed in some long-lived people. That is an association, not evidence about taking it.
Humanin side effects: what studies reported
Almost nothing documented, because it has not been studied in people.
What is known
- Injection-site reactions, in the small amount of reported use
- No established human side-effect profile
Worth knowing
- It is a cell-survival signal. Helping stressed cells survive is good when they are neurons and less obviously good when they are not, which is the theoretical question hanging over it
Source: Preclinical and cell studies. No human trial. This is a summary of published findings, not a complete safety profile and not medical advice. Questions about Humanin belong with a licensed clinician who knows your history.
Your Genetics & Humanin
The genes involved in how Humanin works
Humanin works through the receptors these genes build, and the genes vary from person to person. Researchers have linked some of that variation to differences in how people respond. A DNA report tells you which versions you carry.
APOE · ••
APOE e4 is the best-established common genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer's disease. A human genetics study reported that a rare variant in the humanin sequence was associated with cognitive ageing, with the association concentrated in e4 carriers. That is a genetic association, not evidence about taking humanin.
SOD2 · ••
The Ala16Val variant has been associated with differences in how the SOD2 antioxidant enzyme reaches mitochondria. Pathway context only.
Humanin is encoded within the mitochondrial MT-RNR2 region. Variation here has been studied for its link to humanin levels; the evidence is early.
The dots after each gene are where your own result goes. Your report fills them in with the two letters you carry at that position.
Which of these variants do you carry?
Your report reads the DNA file you already have against this research.
Often discussed alongside
Compounds that come up next to Humanin in research and discussion. Each has its own page. None of this is a suggestion to combine them.
MOTS-c
another mitochondrial-derived peptideEmerging EvidenceMitochondrial Open Reading Frame of the 12S rRNA Type-c
A peptide written not in the cell's main genome but in the tiny separate one mitochondria carry, a leftover from when they were free-living bacteria. In preclinical work it behaves like an exercise signal, switching on the same fuel-burning pathway a hard workout does. Levels fall with age, which is why it turns up in longevity conversations, and essentially all of the outcome data are preclinical.
3
Gene variants
25+
Studies
Access
Access and legal status
Humanin is not an FDA-approved drug. Products sold online as “research chemicals” are labelled not for human use, and FDA treats them as unapproved drugs when they are marketed for people. We don't link to any seller, and nothing on this page is a recommendation to obtain or use it.
Your DNA and Humanin: see which of the variants studied alongside it you carry, and what that research does and does not show. Read my DNA, $99 →
Educational information only, not medical advice. Most peptides are not FDA-approved. Do not start, stop or change any medication or peptide because of this page; talk to a licensed clinician.
Worth knowing about Humanin
Interactions and situations where there is a specific reason to be careful. Where the honest answer is that nobody has studied something, it says so and says what that leaves open.
- There is no human data at all
- Not thin data. None. Everything known about this compound comes from cells and preclinical models, and it has never been through a human trial.
- Not an approved medicine
- It is not approved by any regulator, and products sold under the name are unregulated.
Last updated
Frequently Asked Questions
What has humanin been studied for?
Neuroprotection, metabolism and ageing, in cell and preclinical studies. Higher natural levels have been associated with longevity in observational human studies. It has never been tested in a human trial.
What is the APOE link?
A human genetics study reported that a rare variant in the humanin sequence was associated with cognitive ageing, mainly in APOE e4 carriers. That is an association between genes and ageing, not evidence about what taking humanin would do.
Is humanin legal?
Humanin is not approved by any regulator and has not been tested in people.
Watch
What clinicians and researchers say about Humanin
Learn more about Humanin
Your DNA and Humanin
What the research says about your variants.
The report
Which Humanin variants do you carry?
Your report reads the DNA file you already have against the published research on 31 peptides, marker by marker, and says what that research does and does not show.
Read my DNA, $99