Differential sensitivity to somatostatin of pancreatic polypeptide, glucagon and insulin secretion from the isolated perfused canine pancreas.

This dose-response study deals with the relative inhibitory effect of somatostatin on the acetylcholine-stimulated release of pancreatic polypeptide (PP), glucagon, and insulin from the isolated canine pancrease. Somatostatin in picomolar doses potently inhibited insulin and glucagon secretion, whereas PP secretion was relatively insensitive. Also, in the absence of acetylcholine, somatostatin exerted a preferential inhibition of the release insulin and glucagon compared with PP. These findings point to a physiologically important role of somatostatin for the secretion of insulin and glucagon, but probably not for PP.