Inhibin, activin, and follistatin were originally discovered as hormonal fac- tors a decade ago. Subsequent studies revealed that they are widely distrib- uted anatomically and have multiple biological functions in a wide range of cells and tissues. Since the last Symposium three years ago, there has been remarkable progress toward defining activin's roles in controlling hormone secretion, cell differentiation and proliferation, mesoderm induction in em- bryos, nerve cell survival, and promotion of bone growth. Furthermore, the characterization of activin receptors as serine and threonine...
Inhibin, activin, and follistatin were originally discovered as hormonal fac- tors a decade ago. Subsequent studies revealed that they are widely dist...