High concentration of somatostatin immunoreactivity in chicken pancreas.

Extracts of discrete lobes of chicken pancreas were assayed for somatostatin (SRIF), insulin and glucagon immunoreactivity. The distribution of hormone concentration was correlated appropriately with the known distribution of A, B, and D-cells. Concentrations of all three hormones were highest in the splenic lobe. The glucagon content of the ventral and dorsal lobes was low. Evidence is presented that the SRIF-like material in the pancreatic extracts is very similar to synthetic cyclic SRIF; parallel immunoassay displacement curves and similar chromatographic elution profiles were obtained. The SRIF concentration in chicken pancreas is 21 times higher than that found in the rat. Chicken pancreas may provide a useful model for studies of somatostatin physiology.