Effects of somatostatin-14 and somatostatin-28 on plasma hormonal and gastric secretory responses to cephalic and gastrointestinal stimulation in man.

This study was designed to determine the influence of cephalic and gastrointestinal meal stimulation on plasma levels of somatostatin-like immunoreactivity (SLI) and to compare plasma hormonal and gastric secretory effects of somatostatin-14 (SS-14) and its putative prohormone, somatostatin-28 (SS-28), in humans. Cephalic stimulation induced by modified sham feeding did not affect plasma SLI, whereas a gastric liver extract meal caused a significant increase in SLI. Infusion of SS-28 dose-dependently suppressed gastric acid, serum gastrin, and plasma pancreatic polypeptide (PP) responses to cephalic and gastrointestinal stimulation. SS-28 was equipotent with SS-14 as gastric inhibitor when compared on the basis of molar doses infused but was 4-10 times less potent on the basis of plasma SLI concentrations obtained. A lower and more physiological dose of SS-14 (75 pmol/kg-h) reduced gastric acid and PP responses but failed to affect the serum gastrin response to a meal; whereas a larger, pharmacological dose (500 pmol/kg-h) also suppressed serum gastrin responses. We conclude that meal releases SLI into the circulation and that SS-28 mimics the gastric secretory and plasma hormonal effects of SS-14 but is several times less potent than SS-14 in terms of circulating hormone levels.