The interrelationship of somatostatin and guanylate cyclase activity

Somatostatin has been shown to inhibit the release of various polypeptide hormones including insulin, glucagon, gastrin, thyroid stimulating hormone, and growth hormone. The mechanism by which somatostatin inhibits the release of these various polypeptide hormones has not been fully elucidated. It has been reported that somatostatin increases the level of the second messenger cyclic GMP in rat brain and in the anterior pituitary gland. The present investigation was designed to determine if these responses seen in the anterior pituitary gland and brain were due to activation of guanylate cyclase [GTP-pyrophosphate lyase (cyclizing), E.C.4.6.1.2.], the enzyme that catalyzes the formation of cyclic GMP. Somatostatin at a concentration of 2 pM enhanced guanylate cyclase activity two-fold in rat cerebrum and anterior pituitary gland. This enhancement of guanylate cyclase activity was also seen in rat liver, pancreas, stomach, and small intestine at the same concentration of somatostatin. Increasing the concentration of somatostatin to 20 microM, caused a marked inhibition of guanylate cyclase activity in all these tissues. Dose-reponse curves done on gastric guanylate cyclase activity revealed that over a concentration range of 2 pM to 0.2 microM, somatostatin had a stimulatory effect on guanylate cyclase activity while at concentrations above 10 microM somatostatin was inhibitory to guanylate cyclase activity. The biphasic pattern of enhancement of guanylate cyclase activity at lower concentrations of somatostatin and inhibition at higher concentrations may help to explain some of the discrepancies seen with previous investigations with somatostatin, hormone release, and cyclic nucleotide metabolism.