Somatostatin

The peptide hormone Somatostatin is a hormone found in vertebrates. It is released from the pancreas during digestion and from the hypothalamus. Somatostatin slows down the production of the growth hormone somatotropin and is an important regulator in the entire hormonal system.

What is Somatostatin?

Somatostatin is a peptide hormone that plays an essential role in many endocrine fields of activity. It used to be referred to as bulbogastron in the specialist literature. Today, due to its inhibitory effect, this hormone also has the synonyms: SIH (somatotropin-inhibitory hormone) or GHRIH (growth hormone release inhibiting hormone).

It is released in small amounts by the pancreas during digestion. Somatostatin is produced in many other parts of the body and acts as an antagonist to numerous hormones.

This hormone inhibits the formation of the growth hormone somatotropin in the pituitary gland. It can also reduce the secretion of gastric juice or pancreatic secretions. Other hormones that are regulated in their formation by somatostatin are: insulin, cholecystokinin, motilin or TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone).

Production, Education & Manufacturing

Somatostatin is produced in different places in the human body. The primary point of origin is the hypothalamus. The peptide hormone is also formed endocrinically in the D cells of the pancreas, on the stomach and intestinal walls and in nerve endings.

The nervous and hormonal structure of humans is significantly regulated by this type of hormone. Because it binds to GPCRs (G protein-coupled receptors), it acts on the surface of very different types of cells. It retards the ability of the gastrointestinal tract to move, inhibits the secretion of enzymes in the pancreas and lowers gastric juice production.

Somatostatin also leads to a reduction in pressure in the portal vein circulation. There are two known active types of somatostatin hormone in the body: somatostatin-14 and somatostatin-28. Both come from a common propeptide.

Function, effect & properties

Somatostatin is responsible for paracrine secretion in the pancreas. It inhibits the release of glucagon and insulin, but also of STH, cholecystokinin and gastrin. Because of its effects, somatostatin is used for the following indications: bleeding from esophageal and cardiac varices, ulcer-related bleeding in the lining of the stomach (ulcer bleeding) and acromegaly.

Too much growth hormone is produced in this benign pituitary gland tumor. Somatostatin counteracts this. In addition, this hormone is used medicinally in the case of carcinoid symptoms or fistula therapies in the gastrointestinal tract. Because somatostatin has a short half-life of just a few minutes, it is given as a continuous infusion.

The synthetic analogues of the body's own somatostatin are octreotide and lanreotide. These substances, approved as medicinal products, are used for neuroendocrine tumors. Octreotide, the main component of the drug Sandostatin®, is also administered subcutaneously or in capsule form due to its longer half-life.

Illnesses, ailments & disorders

A disturbance in the somatostatin level upsets the entire hormonal balance of the body. The hormone-blocking somatostatin controls the release of growth hormones. Disturbances in this hormonal interaction cause growth anomalies.

If humans produce too little of this peptide hormone, gastric function is also negatively affected. The muscles no longer work properly and the production of pepsinogen becomes imbalanced. The stomach becomes too acidic. If this situation becomes chronic, secondary diseases such as esophagitis (reflux esophagitis), bleeding, ulcers or even narrowing of the esophagus are possible. Since somatostatin also regulates the production of glucagon, a malfunction of this hormone leads to too high or too low blood sugar levels.

In the worst cases, a blood sugar level that is too low (hypoglycaemia) causes unconsciousness, paralysis or cardiac arrest. Glucagon inhibits the breakdown of glucose and stimulates the production of glucose in the liver. Both functions are dependent on a balanced somatostatin release. Somatostatin is just as important in regulating insulin production in the human body. The insulin made in the pancreas is responsible for lowering blood sugar levels.

Insulin insufficiency, which can result from increased inhibitory activity of somatostatin, leads to a malfunction in the transport of glucose from the blood plasma to the cells of the adipose tissue, the liver or the muscles. Various forms of diabetes and organ weakness are the most extreme consequences of this insufficiency. Another task of somatostatin is to regulate the other peptide hormone motilin, which causes gastric distension as well as a drop in bile and pH in the duodenum.

A faulty balance between the two hormones causes gastrointestinal disorders. According to the latest studies, Alzheimer's dementia is also a serious effect of somatostatin underproduction. The influence of somatostatin on cognitive learning processes has been proven in animals for a long time. The research now suggests that this finding also applies to humans. One of the most significant neurochemical deficits in Alzheimer's patients is the somatostatin concentration. Deficient production of these hormones has also been found in people suffering from depression.

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