Gastric mucosal protection by somatostatins.

Somatostatin and somatostatin derivatives were tested for their ability to prevent gastric hemorrhagic erosions induced by ethanol. The somatostatin analogues were cyclohexapeptides with the rearranged amino acids 7-14 of somatostatin (S-14): Phe-Thr-Lys(Z)-Trp-Phe-D-Pro(I), Phe-Thr-Lys-Trp-Phe-D-Pro(II), Phe-Thr-Lys-D-Trp-Phe-Tyr(III) and Tyr-Phe-D-Trp-Lys-Thr-Phe(IV). In Spraque-Dawley rats receiving ethanol alone, the lesions involved 18.1 +/- 3.2% of the glandular stomach while after S- 14 (10(-7) mol/rat) the lesioned area was reduced to 6.3 +/- 1.1% (p less than 0.05). Peptide I and peptide II (doses 10(-7) -10(-9) mol/rat) decreased the area of erosions to less than 5%. Peptide III was less active and peptide IV was inactive. In rats with chronic gastric fistula S- 14 and peptide II decreased the cysteamine-stimulated acid secretion without affecting the pepsin output. We also continuously measured the intraluminal pH in the stomach of Wistar rats which develop gastric erosions after subcutaneous injection of cysteamine. The erosions were reduced by S- 14 or SMS while the intraluminal pH did not change under the influence of cysteamine or the combination of cysteamine plus S- 14 or SMS. Thus some of the peptides derived from S- 14 exert prominent gastric mucosal protection without influencing gastric secretion.