Cited by 259Pancreatic function and diabetesDiabetes Treatment and ManagementDiabetes and associated disorders

The somatostatin-secreting pancreatic δ-cell in health and disease

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Rorsman, Patrik, Huising, Mark O.·2018·Nature Reviews Endocrinology

Abstract

The somatostatin-secreting δ-cells comprise ~5% of the cells of the pancreatic islets. The δ-cells have complex morphology and might interact with many more islet cells than suggested by their low numbers. δ-Cells contain ATP-sensitive potassium channels, which open at low levels of glucose but close when glucose is elevated. This closure initiates membrane depolarization and electrical activity and increased somatostatin secretion. Factors released by neighbouring α-cells or β-cells amplify the glucose-induced effects on somatostatin secretion from δ-cells, which act locally within the islets as paracrine or autocrine inhibitors of insulin, glucagon and somatostatin secretion. The effects of somatostatin are mediated by activation of somatostatin receptors coupled to the inhibitory G protein, which culminates in suppression of the electrical activity and exocytosis in α-cells and β-cells. Somatostatin secretion is perturbed in animal models of diabetes mellitus, which might explain the loss of appropriate hypoglycaemia-induced glucagon secretion, a defect that could be mitigated by somatostatin receptor 2 antagonists. Somatostatin antagonists or agents that suppress somatostatin secretion have been proposed as an adjunct to insulin therapy. In this Review, we summarize the cell physiology of somatostatin secretion, what might go wrong in diabetes mellitus and the therapeutic potential of agents targeting somatostatin secretion or action.

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Authors
Rorsman, P., & Huising, M. O.
Affiliations
  • Churchill Hospital (GB)
  • University of California, Davis (US)
Corresponding author
Rorsman, Patrik
Venue
Nature Reviews Endocrinology
Published
2018-05-17
Volume
14
Issue
7
Pages
404-414
ISSN
  • 1759-5029 (ISSN-L)
  • 1759-5037
OpenAlex
W2803302591
Cited by
259
References
112
Citations by year
2026: 24 · 2025: 36 · 2024: 38 · 2023: 36 · 2022: 34 · 2021: 32 · 2020: 31 · 2019: 21 · 2018: 7
FWCI
5.05
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature Reviews Endocrinology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
Funders
  • Wellcome Trust (095531/Z/11/Z)
  • National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (R01DK110276)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Surgery › Pancreatic function and diabetes
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Diabetes Treatment and Management
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Diabetes and associated disorders
Keywords
pancreatic delta cells, somatostatin secretion, pancreatic islets, ATP-sensitive potassium channels, somatostatin receptors, G protein signaling, glucagon secretion, hypoglycemia, diabetes mellitus
MeSH terms
Animals, Diabetes Mellitus, Female, Glucagon, Humans, Hypoglycemia, Male, Prognosis, Reference Values, Somatostatin, Biomarkers, Case-Control Studies, Treatment Outcome, Receptors, Somatostatin, Somatostatin-Secreting Cells

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