WELCOME TO THE FAMILY - THE ANTI-MULLERIAN HORMONE-RECEPTOR

Anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) is a member of the superfamily of peptide growth/differentiation factors which includes the activins and TGF-be ta s. The putative AMH type II receptor, which was cloned recently (Ba arends et al., 1994), is a member of the superfamily of transmembrane serine/threonine kinase receptors. In hypothetical evolutionary relati onship dendrograms, both AMH and its putative receptor take isolated p ositions relative to their respective family members. The prenatal exp ression pattern of this putative AMH receptor is in accordance with th e expected endocrine action of AMH on the mesenchymal cells located ad jacent to the mullerian duct, and with known effects of AMH on gonadal differentiation. Postnatal expression of mRNA encoding this receptor in granulosa and Sertoli cells provides a new stimulus to study possib le functions of AMH in the gonads.