Diabetes, Vol 30, Issue 10 883-886, Copyright © 1981 by American Diabetes Association

ARTICLES

Evidence for the hormonal status of somatostatin in man

ES Zyznar, AO Pietri, V Harris and RH Unger

To determine the hormonal status of somatostatin in man, plasma levels of approximately 1600-dalton somatostatin-like immunoreactivity (SLI) were measured before and after a mixed meal. Plasma was subjected to gel filtration and the fractions coeluting with somatostatin were concentrated ninefold before radioimmunoassay. In this system the recovery of synthetic somatostatin added to plasma averaged 71 +/- 4.6% (mean +/- SE, N = 5). Synthetic somatostatin infused into normal volunteers gave a dose-related increase in the measured SLI value. Fasting SLI in 13 normal volunteers was 8.0 +/- 0.7 pg/ml (mean +/- SE) and rose to 18.6 +/- 1.5 pg/ml and 20.3 +/- 2.0 pg/ml at 60 and 120 min, respectively, after the meal (P less than 0.001). In seven type I diabetics, the fasting level was 11.5 +/- 1.6 pg/ml and the 60- and 120-min postprandial levels were 21.4 +/- 2.5 and 22.3 +/- 2.9 pg/ml, respectively. The meal-induced rise in approximately 1600 M.W. SLI approximated that produced by infusing somatostatin at 2 microgram/h, a rate that significantly suppressed glucagon levels. These results are therefore consistent with a hormonal role for somatostatin in man.
CiteULike    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?