Developmental expression of somatostatin receptors in the rat retina.

The ontogeny of somatostatin receptor binding was studied in developing rat retina using the iodinated derivative of the somatostatin analog, SMS 204-090. Specific binding of the ligand was seen as early embryonic day (E) 15 in the region of the inner neuroblastic layer. At E19 binding was localized to the ganglion cell and developing inner plexiform layers. At postnatal day (P) 2, there was diminished binding on autoradiography in this region. At P11, binding was more intense in the inner plexiform layer, and there was discernible binding in the outer plexiform layer. In the adult retina, the binding was seen clearly in two distinct bands corresponding to the inner plexiform layer and the outer plexiform layer. There was a single saturable binding site with the dissociation constant (Kd) of 0.25 +/- 0.04 nM. Binding sites were fairly constant throughout development except for a significant decline during the first postnatal week (Bmax = 1.8). These results demonstrate the early appearance of somatostatin receptors in the rat retina with high levels present embryologically followed by a brief decline in the early postnatal period with a return to high levels by synapse formation (P11). These receptor data parallel previous reports of the appearance of the somatostatin mRNA and peptide in rat retina.