somatostatin

somatostatin /so·ma·to·stat·in/ (SS) (-stat´in) a polypeptide elaborated primarily by the median eminence of the hypothalamus and by the delta cells of the islets of Langerhans; it inhibits release of thyrotropin, somatotropin, and corticotropin by the adenohypophysis, of insulin and glucagon by the pancreas, of gastrin by the gastric mucosa, of secretin by the intestinal mucosa, and of renin by the kidney.

---

so·mat·o·stat·in (s-mt-sttn, sm-t-)

n.

A tetradecapeptide capable of inhibiting the release of somatotropin by the pituitary gland. Also called somatotropin release-inhibiting factor.

---

somatostatin

a cyclic tetradecapeptide hormone and neurotransmitter that inhibits the release of peptide hormones in many tissues. It is released by the hypothalamus to inhibit the release of growth hormone (GH, somatotropin) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) from the anterior pituitary; it is also released by the delta cells of the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas to inhibit the release of glucagon and insulin and by the similar D cells in the gastrointestinal tract.