Somatostatin

From WikiMD.org
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Somatostatin

Somatostatin (pronounced soh-muh-toh-STAT-in), also known as growth hormone-inhibiting hormone (GHIH), is a peptide hormone that regulates the endocrine system and affects neurotransmission and cell proliferation via interaction with G protein-coupled somatostatin receptors and inhibition of the release of numerous secondary hormones.

Etymology

The term "somatostatin" comes from the Greek words "soma" meaning body and "statin" meaning stopping. It was first discovered in 1973 by Roger Guillemin and Andrew V. Schally, two neuroendocrinologists who were later awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work.

Function

Somatostatin has many functions in the body. It inhibits the release of growth hormone (GH) from the anterior pituitary, thus preventing excessive growth. It also suppresses the release of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) from the thyroid gland, and insulin and glucagon from the pancreas.

Related Terms

  • Growth hormone: A hormone that stimulates growth, cell reproduction, and cell regeneration in humans and other animals.
  • Anterior pituitary: The front portion of the pituitary gland, a small gland located at the base of the brain.
  • Thyroid-stimulating hormone: A hormone that stimulates the thyroid gland to produce thyroxine (T4), and then triiodothyronine (T3), which stimulates the metabolism of almost every tissue in the body.
  • Thyroid gland: A large ductless gland in the neck that secretes hormones regulating growth and development through the rate of metabolism.
  • Insulin: A hormone produced in the pancreas by the islets of Langerhans that regulates the amount of glucose in the blood.
  • Glucagon: A hormone formed in the pancreas that promotes the breakdown of glycogen to glucose in the liver.
  • Pancreas: A large gland behind the stomach that secretes digestive enzymes into the duodenum.

External links

Esculaap.svg

This WikiMD dictionary article is a stub. You can help make it a full article.


Languages: - East Asian 中文, 日本, 한국어, South Asian हिन्दी, Urdu, বাংলা, తెలుగు, தமிழ், ಕನ್ನಡ,
Southeast Asian Indonesian, Vietnamese, Thai, မြန်မာဘာသာ, European español, Deutsch, français, русский, português do Brasil, Italian, polski