Humanin: research

A peptide the body makes; injection benefits and safety remain unproven.

Also called: HN, MT-RNR2 peptide.

Mitochondrial-derived peptides · 24-amino-acid mitochondrial cell-survival peptide.

No verified direct-administration human studies in the reviewed record. Human biomarker studies and experiments administering humanin to animals are separate evidence.

Studies

• Severe Klebsiella infection. cohort, n=40, 20 patients with bloodstream infection/liver abscess and 20 matched controls. Serum humanin was higher during infection, p<0.001. Treatment experiments were in mice, not patients. (source)
• Heart-failure rehabilitation. cohort, n=154, 71 rehabilitation and 83 usual-care patients hospitalized with worsening heart failure. At 6 months, cardiac events occurred in 24/71 vs 41/83, p=0.051. The humanin/CRP ratio was an observational risk marker. (source)
• Water exercise in older women. rct, n=24, 24 older women randomized to water resistance training or control. The study measured humanin after 12 weeks of training; its abstract reports no separate humanin effect estimate. (source)
• Hemodialysis risk models. cohort, n=83, 83 people receiving hemodialysis followed for 24 months. 33 had a cardiovascular event; both low <462 and high >778 pg/mL humanin were linked to increased risk. (source)
• Exercise and astaxanthin. rct, n=90, 90 women with type 2 diabetes in 6 randomized groups. Humanin rose after combined exercise with or without astaxanthin, p<0.05. No humanin injections were used. (source)
• PCOS serum and muscle. cohort, n=80, 40 women with PCOS and 40 matched controls. Median humanin was 474.9 vs 672.3 pg/mL, p<0.001; muscle levels did not differ, p=0.71. (source)
• Keratoconus tissue. cohort, n=100, 75 corneal samples from keratoconus patients and 25 postmortem controls. Corneal mitochondrial peptides and stress markers were measured; no humanin dose was administered to people. (source)
• Hemodialysis and cardiovascular risk. cohort, n=94, 94 people receiving hemodialysis. Humanin had a U-shaped association with risk; values <450.7 or >759.5 pg/mL were linked to more events. (source)
• Glioblastoma tissue expression. cohort, Human tumor tissue and public gene-expression datasets. Humanin was higher in tumor than nearby normal tissue. Experiments that accelerated tumor growth used cells and mice. (source)
• P3S variant and longevity. cohort, Centenarians and other cohorts, including APOE4 carriers. The P3S humanin variant was enriched in long-lived APOE4 carriers; brain-protection experiments used cells and mice. (source)
• Inflammatory bowel disease in children. cohort, n=80, 40 children with IBD and 40 matched healthy children. Humanin regulation was altered in IBD; tissue experiments linked inflammatory signals to reduced growth-plate humanin. (source)
• Adrenal cancer expression. cohort, Adrenocortical cancer tissue and healthy comparison tissue. Humanin mRNA expression was lower in cancer tissue. This does not establish the safety of taking humanin with cancer. (source)
• Septic shock in children. cohort, n=140, 140 children with septic shock; 39 with thrombocytopenia-associated organ failure. Humanin was higher on day 1 than day 3, and higher with thrombocytopenia-associated organ failure. (source)
• Uterine adhesion tissue. cohort, n=6, 3 patients with intrauterine adhesions and 3 controls. Human tissue humanin expression was examined; HNG treatment experiments were in rats and cultured cells. (source)
• Exercise in Alzheimer's disease. rct, n=95, 95 ADEX participants randomized to exercise or control. Exosome humanin increased after 16 weeks of exercise, particularly in APOE4 carriers; control levels did not change. (source)
• Breast cancer detection. cohort, n=90, 45 women with invasive ductal breast cancer and 45 healthy controls. Humanin was higher in breast cancer, p=0.008; diagnostic sensitivity 62.5%, specificity 77.5%. (source)
• Parkinson's gene expression. cohort, n=220, 154 people with Parkinson's disease and 66 controls. Blood-cell humanin mRNA was evaluated as a biomarker; this was not a humanin treatment trial. (source)
• Stable COPD prognosis. cohort, n=214, 165 people with stable COPD and 49 smokers without COPD. Humanin was higher in COPD, p=0.037; high levels predicted severe flares, HR 3.445, 95% CI 1.357-8.740. (source)
• Autophagy and muscle aging. cohort, Human cohort plus cell, mouse and worm experiments. A human cohort was examined; humanin-induced lifespan and muscle effects were tested in worms and mice. (source)
• Coronary disease prognosis. cohort, n=327, 327 participants with normal arteries, angina or heart attack. Humanin was 157.77±99.93, 124.22±63.02 and 67.17±24.35 pg/mL, respectively; patient groups differed from controls, p<0.05. (source)
• PCOS and ovarian insulin resistance. cohort, Women with PCOS, grouped by insulin resistance. Follicular-fluid humanin was compared by insulin-resistance status; HNG supplementation was tested in rats and cells. (source)
• PCOS and ovarian stress. cohort, n=44, 16 women with PCOS and 28 matched IVF controls. Patient samples were analyzed for humanin; proposed protective effects were tested in rat and cell models. (source)
• Aging, diabetes and Alzheimer's. cohort, People with diabetes, Alzheimer's disease and healthy aging controls. Humanin was lower in Alzheimer's disease, but not type 2 diabetes, compared with healthy aging groups. (source)
• Centenarian families. cohort, Children of centenarians and age-matched controls; other disease cohorts. Centenarians' offspring had higher circulating humanin. Longer lifespan after intervention was shown in worms, not people. (source)
• Insomnia in older women. cohort, Postmenopausal women aged 55-70 with objective or paradoxical insomnia. Humanin was higher than in controls; objective and paradoxical insomnia groups did not differ. (source)
• Hyperbaric oxygen and dementia. rct, n=158, 158 people with vascular dementia randomized to oxygen therapy or usual care. Oxygen therapy increased humanin and MMSE scores, p<0.05; humanin correlated with MMSE, r=0.409. No peptide was administered. (source)
• Semen quality. cohort, n=164, 164 men undergoing fertility evaluation. Seminal humanin ranged 24.4-285.1 pg/mL, median 89.7; correlation with sperm concentration r=0.75, p<0.001. (source)
• Ischemic heart disease. cohort, 59 patients with coronary heart disease and a healthy reference group. Humanin was reported as low as 250 ng/L in patients versus 1110 ng/L, range 800-1500, in healthy people. (source)
• IVF follicular fluid. cohort, n=179, 179 women undergoing their first IVF or ICSI cycle. Humanin ranged 86.40-417.60 pg/mL; highest versus lowest quartile pregnancy OR 3.60, 95% CI 1.09-11.84. (source)
• Genetics and cognitive aging. cohort, Human genetic cohorts, including a national sample of older adults. A coding-region variant associated with lower humanin also associated with faster cognitive aging. Treatment was tested in mice. (source)
• Aging and centenarians. cohort, n=693, 693 people aged 21-113. Humanin increased with age and was highest in centenarians; higher levels were linked to shorter survival among the oldest participants. (source)
• Gestational diabetes. cohort, n=157, 84 women with gestational diabetes and 73 pregnant controls. Humanin was associated with gestational diabetes and glucose/insulin measures; no peptide was administered. (source)
• Bladder cancer metabolism. cohort, T2 bladder-cancer tissue and nearby normal tissue. Humanin gene expression was compared across tissues; this was a cancer-biology study, not a dosing study. (source)
• Preeclampsia. cohort, n=71, 37 women with preeclampsia and 34 uncomplicated pregnancies. Humanin was 422.2±33.5 vs 319.1±28.1 pg/mL, p=0.023; diagnostic AUC 0.639. (source)
• Prediabetes and resistance training. rct, n=55, 55 men with impaired glucose regulation, randomized to 3 groups. Muscle humanin increased 35% after 12 weeks of resistance training. Serum humanin did not change in any group. (source)
• Impaired fasting glucose. cohort, n=81, 23 people with impaired fasting glucose and 58 controls. Reported humanin means were 204.84±92.87 vs 124.3±83.91 pg/mL, p=0.0001; the abstract's stated direction conflicts with these numbers. (source)
• High oxygen before bypass. rct, n=24, 24 coronary-bypass patients randomized to oxygen fractions 0.4 or 1.0. After 60 minutes, high oxygen increased myocardial MTRNR2L2 and MTRNR2L8 expression. These are humanin-like genes. (source)
• Sex and type 1 diabetes. cohort, n=62, 41 adults with type 1 diabetes and 21 healthy adults. Humanin was higher in men with diabetes than women with diabetes, p=0.026, and healthy men, p<0.0001. (source)
• Growth hormone and IGF-1. cohort, Human endocrine-intervention groups plus mouse experiments. GH or IGF-1 administration reduced circulating humanin. The study did not dose people with humanin. (source)
• Coronary vessel function. cohort, n=40, 20 patients with endothelial dysfunction and 20 with normal function. Humanin was 1.3±1.1 vs 2.2±1.5 ng/mL, p=0.03, in dysfunction versus normal vessel function. (source)
• Carotid plaque expression. cohort, n=34, 34 people undergoing carotid surgery. Humanin staining occupied 29.42±2.05% vs 14.14±2.13% of symptomatic versus asymptomatic plaque area, p<0.0001. (source)
• Sperm and testis expression. cohort, Human semen and testicular specimens. Humanin was detected in sperm and testis; staining differed with sperm morphology. (source)
• Mitochondrial muscle disease. cohort, 4 patients with chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia, plus other tissue cases. Humanin was expressed in all 4 CPEO cases and some nondegenerating muscle fibers with mitochondrial defects. (source)
• MELAS muscle expression. cohort, Muscle specimens from people with MELAS. Humanin was increased in ragged-red fibers and some other fibers. Adding humanin to laboratory cells increased ATP. (source)
• Joint-lining tumor expression. cohort, Diffuse and nodular pigmented villonodular synovitis and arthritis specimens. Humanin was strongly expressed in diffuse-type disease but barely detected in nodular disease or arthritis. (source)
• Mediterranean diet and humanin. cohort, n=49, 49 older adults with atrial fibrillation. High diet-adherence participants, n=20, had higher humanin than low/moderate participants, n=29, p=0.045. (source)
• Breast cancer in Egypt. cohort, n=145, 75 women with breast cancer and 70 healthy controls. Humanin was higher in breast cancer, p<0.001; diagnostic sensitivity 78.7%, specificity 62.9%. (source)
• Rheumatoid arthritis and vessels. cohort, Patients with rheumatoid arthritis assessed for endothelial dysfunction. Higher humanin was linked to better endothelial function, OR 0.9774, p=0.0196; survival association p<0.0001. (source)
• Parkinson's peptide measurements. cohort, Parkinson's patients and laboratory disease models. Patients had blood humanin measured. Intranasal peptide delivery and movement improvement were tested in mice only. (source)
• Septic respiratory failure. cohort, Patients with septic ARDS, plus mouse and cell experiments. Serum humanin rose on day 1, then fell from days 3 to 7. HNG intervention was tested in mice and cells. (source)
• Kidney failure and stress signals. cohort, n=240, 160 adults with kidney failure and 80 controls. Humanin was lower in kidney failure and independently associated with the AGE/RAGE stress-signaling system. (source)
• Exercise in cerebral palsy. cohort, Adults with cerebral palsy, and typically developing adults and adolescents. Natural peptide levels were similar at rest; a 45-minute run caused no or modest changes across groups. (source)
• Atrial fibrillation biomarkers. cohort, n=78, 39 people with atrial fibrillation and 39 sinus-rhythm controls. Atrial tissue humanin and MOTS-c were lower in atrial fibrillation; plasma MOTS-c was also lower. (source)
• Alzheimer's disease biomarkers. cohort, People with Alzheimer's disease, mild impairment or subjective cognitive decline. Blood/plasma transcripts were lower in Alzheimer's disease; plasma peptide proteins did not distinguish Alzheimer's from mild impairment. (source)
• Prostate disease biomarkers. cohort, n=375, 375 men undergoing evaluation for suspected prostate cancer. Humanin was lower in precancerous and cancer groups than benign enlargement; a combined plasma model had 95% cross-validated accuracy. (source)
• Untreated preeclampsia. cohort, Pregnant women with preeclampsia and controls. MOTS-c was lower, p<0.05; humanin did not differ significantly between groups. (source)
• SGLT2 medicines in heart failure. cohort, n=111, 74 adults with diabetes and reduced-ejection-fraction heart failure; 37 controls. SGLT2 inhibitor use for at least 2 months was linked to higher MOTS-c, but not humanin. (source)
• Sleep apnea and cognition. cohort, n=268, 268 people, including sleep-apnea and cognitive-impairment groups. Exosome humanin predicted cognitive impairment in sleep apnea, OR 2.100, 95% CI 1.646-2.679; levels fell after CPAP. (source)
• Radiotherapy biomarkers. cohort, 35 lung cancer patients, 34 breast cancer patients, and healthy controls. Humanin was lower in breast cancer, p<0.001, but not lung cancer; radiotherapy-related changes concerned MOTS-c. (source)
• COPD exacerbation. cohort, n=211, 51 people with a COPD flare and 160 with stable COPD. Humanin did not differ between COPD flare and stable COPD, p=0.557; high levels predicted readmission, HR 2.661, 95% CI 1.009-7.016. (source)
• COVID and long-COVID exosomes. cohort, n=64, 16 acute COVID, 30 long-COVID, 8 recovered and 10 uninfected participants. Exosomal mitochondrial-protein patterns during acute infection were linked to later long COVID. (source)
• COVID blood biomarkers. cohort, n=62, 30 adults with COVID and 32 healthy volunteers. COVID was linked to lower humanin and higher MOTS-c. These were measurements, not dosing outcomes. (source)
• Prostate cancer and ancestry. cohort, Men undergoing prostate biopsy, analyzed by race. Circulating mitochondrial peptides were associated with prostate-cancer risk in a race-dependent analysis. (source)
• Professional athletes. cohort, n=105, 75 athletes and 30 non-athletes. Athletes had lower MOTS-c and higher humanin than sedentary controls; high-endurance athletes had lower humanin than other athletes. (source)
• Depression and exosomes. cohort, People with major depression and matched controls. Neuron-derived vesicle mitochondrial proteins differed in depression and changed with SSRI response. (source)
• One exercise session. rct, n=30, 30 adults randomized to cycling, resistance exercise or rest. Humanin rose after endurance exercise; MOTS-c showed only a trend. Resting levels did not correlate with fitness. (source)
• First-episode psychosis. cohort, n=20, 10 people with first-episode psychosis and 10 matched controls. Neuron-derived exosome mitochondrial proteins were abnormal in psychosis; no peptide was given. (source)
• Advanced kidney disease. cohort, People with stage 5 kidney disease and matched controls. Muscle humanin and MOTS-c were lower. Serum humanin was higher while serum MOTS-c was lower in kidney disease. (source)
• Diabetes and natural peptides. cohort, n=225, 68 normal, 33 prediabetes, 31 well-controlled and 93 poorly controlled diabetes cases. Humanin and MOTS-c were lower across diabetes groups; this cross-sectional study did not test replacement injections. (source)
• Chronic fatigue and Q fever. cohort, n=40, 10 each with Q-fever fatigue, chronic fatigue, prior Q fever or healthy status. Monocyte peptide-gene expression was examined across groups; no injected peptide or clinical benefit was tested. (source)
• Diabetes risk-model biomarkers. cohort, Adults grouped by HbA1c-defined glucose status. Humanin and MOTS-c ranked differently across glucose-status groups in models of the plasma atherogenic index. (source)
• Diabetes and comorbidities. cohort, Patients stratified by diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Mitochondrial, inflammatory and oxidative markers differed across metabolic groups; no peptide intervention was given. (source)
• Early pregnancy follow-up. cohort, n=73, 28 women with gestational diabetes and 45 matched pregnant controls. Humanin and MOTS-c fell from first to second trimester; MOTS-c change was linked to insulin resistance, OR 3.73, 95% CI 1.03-13.50. (source)
• Original cell discovery. in-vitro, Neuronal cells exposed to Alzheimer-related toxic proteins. Humanin protected cultured neurons against several Alzheimer-related insults. (source)
• Blocking Bax in cells. in-vitro, Cultured cells and isolated mitochondria. Humanin bound Bax and reduced its movement to mitochondria, limiting cell-death signaling. (source)
• Cell-surface receptor complex. in-vitro, Neuronal cells and receptor-binding assays. Humanin protection required CNTFR/WSX-1/gp130 signaling in these experiments. (source)
• Brain-tumor growth signal. animal, Orthotopic glioblastoma mouse model and glioblastoma cells. Humanin promoted invasion, blood-vessel growth and worse survival in a glioblastoma model; this is a cancer safety concern. (source)
• Rodent pharmacokinetics. animal, Male mice and rats given HNG or HNGF6A. Clearance differed by analog, IGFBP-3 binding and species. These measurements do not establish a human half-life. (source)
• Lifespan and healthspan models. animal, Worms and mice; HNG is an analog. Humanin overexpression extended worm lifespan; HNG improved some mouse health measures. Human lifespan extension was not tested. (source)
• Intranasal delivery in mice. animal, Parkinson-like mouse models. Intranasal humanin reached mouse brain and improved model outcomes; this was not human intranasal dosing. (source)
• Sperm preservation in the lab. in-vitro, Semen samples from 15 healthy men, treated outside the body. HNG reduced freezing-related damage to human sperm in the laboratory. No person was dosed. (source)
• Down syndrome donor cells. in-vitro, Cultured fibroblasts from people with Down syndrome and controls. Humanin gene and protein expression were higher in Down syndrome donor cells; this was not a dosing study. (source)
• Exercise evidence review. systematic-review, Secondary synthesis of biomarker or exercise research; not a peptide treatment trial. 9 studies were included; most suggested exercise-related increases. None establishes injected-humanin benefit or safety. (source)
• Acute kidney injury marker. cohort, n=60, Acute Kidney Injury; planned enrollment. A study record, not evidence that injected humanin works. (source)
• Kidney injury after heart transplant. cohort, n=60, Acute Kidney Injury; planned enrollment. A study record, not evidence that injected humanin works. (source)
• Cerebral palsy muscle biopsies. cohort, n=150, Cerebral Palsy; planned enrollment. A study record, not evidence that injected humanin works. (source)
• Peptides after heart surgery. cohort, n=106, Myocardial Ischemia; actual enrollment. A study record, not evidence that injected humanin works. (source)
• PCOS and IVF marker. cohort, n=100, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome; planned enrollment. A study record, not evidence that injected humanin works. (source)
• Anesthesia and peptide markers. cohort, n=68, Kidney Disease, End-Stage; planned enrollment. A study record, not evidence that injected humanin works. (source)
• Kidney disease exercise, registry. rct, n=50, Chronic Kidney Disease; planned enrollment. A study record, not evidence that injected humanin works. (source)
• High-intensity interval exercise. single-arm, n=10, 10 healthy untrained young men. Acute exercise raised muscle and plasma humanin; 2-week training tended to lower resting plasma levels, p=0.063. (source)
• Breast cancer tissue expression. cohort, Triple-negative breast cancer biopsies, donor tissue and public tumor datasets. Humanin was higher in triple-negative breast cancer biopsies; tumor-promoting peptide treatment was tested in mice. (source)
• Periodontitis biomarkers. cohort, Gingival-fluid specimens from people with periodontitis. Humanin was detected in fluid after inflammation began; macrophage protection experiments were laboratory studies. (source)
• Liver failure biomarkers. cohort, n=30, 15 people with chronic liver failure and 15 healthy controls. The study reports increased humanin with dihydroquercetin adjunctive therapy; no humanin was administered to patients. (source)
• Degenerating spinal-disc tissue. cohort, Human nucleus-pulposus samples and rat disc models. Humanin expression was lower in degenerating patient tissue; peptide treatment was tested in cells and rats. (source)
• Breast-tumor growth in mice. animal, Mice bearing triple-negative breast tumors. Humanin accelerated tumor growth and lung metastases and reduced chemotherapy effects in mice. (source)
• Brain-tumor drug resistance. in-vitro, Glioblastoma cells and biopsy-derived primary cultures. HNGF6A increased chemotherapy resistance and migration; inhibiting humanin reduced these effects. (source)
• Embryo culture-medium study. in-vitro, Discarded embryo culture medium from IVF patient groups. Humanin gene expression was compared across infertility groups; no person received humanin. (source)

Gaps: No human administration trial establishes dose, clinical benefit, pharmacokinetics or adverse-event rates. Cancer effects may vary by tissue; long-term cancer risk is unknown. Pregnancy, breastfeeding, fertility, pediatric and organ-impairment injection safety are unknown. Native humanin is often confused with HNG and other analogs in reports and products. Shelf life, diluent compatibility and independent retail-vial testing data are missing. No verifiable non-selling clinician-published dosing protocol was found. Some reported schedules omit the route; those doses remain in community reports rather than complete protocols.

Related to Humanin

• MOTS-c: A peptide the body makes; injection benefits and safety remain unproven.
• Ipamorelin: An experimental peptide that triggers growth hormone release.
• Epitalon: A peptide with telomerase effects in cells, but no proof that people live longer.

Humanin: the short version

Sources

• 503B Bulk Drug Substances List, FDA · FDA · 2026
• Bulk Drug Substances Nominated for Use in Compounding Under Section 503A of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, FDA · FDA · 2026
• Cellulitis, NHS · NHS · 2026
• FDA Briefing Document: MOTS-c-Related Bulk Drug Substances (MOTS-c (free base) and MOTS-c acetate), FDA · 2026
• Find product information about medicines, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency · MHRA · 2026
• HUMANIN, FDA · 2026
• Medicines, European Medicines Agency · European Medicines Agency · 2026
• Peptide products, Therapeutic Goods Administration · TGA · 2026
• Risks of buying peptide products online, Therapeutic Goods Administration · 2026
• The 2026 Prohibited List, World Anti-Doping Agency · WADA · 2026
• Think twice before injecting peptides bought online: unauthorized products can seriously harm you, Health Canada · Health Canada · 2026
• Anaphylaxis, NHS · NHS · 2023
• Low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia), NHS · 2023
• [Effects of cardiac rehabilitation and predictive value of Humanin/CRP ratio in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic heart failure]., Li CY et al. · Zhonghua xin xue guan bing za zhi · 2026
• AGEs-RAGE Axis and Mitochondrial-Derived Peptides in Advanced Chronic Kidney Disease: Interconnected Pathways Beyond Inflammation and Nutrition., Suliman ME et al. · Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026

Sources checked: 2026-10-18.

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