Mode of action of somatostatin to inhibit secretion by shark rectal gland.

The rectal gland of the spiny dogfish Squalus acanthias is stimulated to secrete chloride by vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) in a way that is inhibited by somatostatin. The mechanism of inhibition by somatostatin was studied in isolated perfused rectal glands and separated rectal gland cells. Somatostatin did not alter the specific binding of VIP to rectal gland cells but inhibited their accumulation of adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) in response to VIP. In isolated perfused glands, somatostatin inhibited the stimulation of secretion produced by VIP, adenosine, and forskolin, as well as by dibutyryl cAMP plus a phosphodiesterase inhibitor. The results support the hypothesis of both a proximal and a distal locus, in the cascade of events leading from adenylate cyclase activation to cellular response, at which somatostatin exerts an inhibitory effect.