| Alfred Jost | |
| Birth Date: | 27 July 1916 |
| Birth Place: | Strasbourg |
| Death Date: | 3 February 1991 |
| Nationality: | French |
| Field: | Endocrinology |
| Work Institutions: | Collège de France |
| Known For: | anti-Müllerian hormone |
Alfred Jost (1916 - 1991) was a French endocrinologist, and an early researcher in the field of fetal endocrinology.[1] He is known for his discovery of the Müllerian inhibitor, now called anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) or Müllerian inhibiting substance (MIS).[2] His research demonstrated how hormones affect the development of male and female sex characteristics.[3]
Jost was a professor at the University of Paris, and was head of the Department of Comparative Physiology there in 1972.[4] Jost was known for applying surgical methods to fetal endocrinology. He also taught many pre-doctoral students.
During the 1950s and 1960s Jost studied the mechanism of somatic sex differentiation;[5] his research showed that male characteristics must be imposed on the fetus by the testicular hormones testosterone and AMH,[6] [5] and that in the absence or inactivity of these hormones, the fetus becomes phenotypically female.[7]
Jost also studied testicular differentiation, in collaboration with Solange Magre. He was the first to show that testicular organization is heralded by the development of pre-Sertoli cells, which progressively surround germ cells to form seminiferous tubules.
He died February 3, 1991, at age 75,[8] having retired from the Collège de France, but still active as the Secrétaire Perpétuel of the French Academy of Sciences.