Somatostatin gene regulation: an overview

Abstract

The somatostatinergic system has proven to be one of the best models of neuropeptide biology. Originally characterized as a hypothalamic regulator of growth hormone secretion, somatostatin also regulates the secretion of several other pituitary, pancreatic, and gastrointestinal (GI) hormones including thyrotropin-stimulating hormone, insulin, glucagon, and gastrin. Disorders in somatostatin metabolism have been proposed to contribute to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, GI motility disorders, and diabetes. On a more basic level, studies of somatostatin action have integrated divergent concepts of intracellular signal transduction. Advances in the understanding of somatostatin biosynthesis have had an impact on areas outside the field of endocrinology by providing new concepts of eukaryotic gene regulation. This report focuses on the transcriptional regulation of somatostatin gene expression. Two aspects of somatostatin gene transcription will be considered--regulated expression by second messengers and tissue-specific basal expression.