somatostatin

noun

so·​mato·​stat·​in sō-ˌma-tə-ˈsta-tᵊn 

: a polypeptide neurohormone that is found especially in the hypothalamus and inhibits the secretion of several other hormones (such as growth hormone, insulin, and gastrin)

Examples of somatostatin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

These peptides specifically bind to target receptors on cancer cells — PSMA in the case of prostate cancer, and somatostatin receptors in the case of Lutathera — and deliver radiation through the decay of unstable lutetium. —Discover Magazine, 8 July 2024

These peptides specifically bind to target receptors on cancer cells—PSMA in the case of prostate cancer and somatostatin receptors in the case of Lutathera—and deliver radiation through the decay of unstable lutetium. —Elie Dolgin, Ars Technica, 21 June 2024

The researcher studied the pituitary gland under the late Wylie Vale at Salk which was home to Roger Guillemin, who won a Nobel Prize in 1977 for discoveries that led to research on brain hormones such as somatostatin. —Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Sep. 2023

Two other hormones also play a role in regulating blood sugar — somatostatin and glucagon — and little was known then about how they are produced. —Gina Kolata, New York Times, 17 Aug. 2023

Relatively high levels of the appetite-stimulating hormone could increase the sensitivity of tuberal somatostatin activity, although other genetic variations could also play a role. —Holly Barker, Discover Magazine, 23 Sep. 2021

That’s thanks to elevated levels of a hunger hormone called ghrelin, which partially activates tuberal somatostatin neurons, explains lead study author Yu Fu. —Holly Barker, Discover Magazine, 23 Sep. 2021

Within a year of conquering somatostatin in 1977, Riggs’s group did the same with human insulin. —Jerome Groopman, The New York Review of Books, 21 Sep. 2022

Among its functions, somatostatin inhibits production of insulin and growth hormone, and slows digestion. —San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 June 2019

Word History

Etymology

somat- + Latin status (past participle of sistere to halt, cause to stand) + English -in entry 1; akin to Latin stare to stand — more at stand

First Known Use

1973, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

somatostatin

noun

so·​mato·​stat·​in sō-ˌmat-ə-ˈstat-ᵊn 

: a polypeptide neurohormone that is found especially in the hypothalamus, is composed of a chain of 14 amino acid residues, and inhibits the secretion of several other hormones (as growth hormone, insulin, and gastrin)