Somatostatin inhibits VIP- and forskolin-stimulated cyclic AMP accumulation in enterocytes from rat jejunum.

This study demonstrates the dual regulation by somatostatin of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP)-stimulated and forskolin-stimulated cyclic AMP accumulation by isolated rat intestinal epithelial cells. Somatostatin non-competitively inhibited (IC50 = 1 microM) the stimulatory effect of VIP on cyclic AMP accumulation, suggesting that the two neuropeptides act through separate receptors. The cyclic AMP accumulation produced by forskolin (a diterpene that stimulates directly the catalytic subunit of adenylate cyclase) was also inhibited by somatostatin in a dose-dependent manner. However, somatostatin did not modify the stimulatory effect of VIP on adenylate cyclase activity in a membrane preparation from the same cells, making it difficult to explain the mechanism of somatostatin action at this level. The data presented here suggest that somatostatin may play a physiological role in the regulation of nutrient absorption and the release of gut hormones or exocrine secretions by intestinal epithelial cells through the modulation of cyclic AMP production.