The ACTH receptor

The ACTH-R is a receptor that has a prominent role in mammalian physiology, but which has been notoriously difficult to study. The cloning of the gene encoding this receptor in 1992 should permit significant advances in the understanding of the physiology, pharmacology and pathophysiology of ACTH. Areas of particular interest that should be clarified in the next few years are the control of the tissue specific expression of the gene, and an understanding of the molecular determinants of the ligand-receptor interaction. This latter area raises the prospect of clinically useful, orally active ACTH agonists and antagonists.