It is well established that somatostatin acts through G protein-coupled receptors, termed sst, to inhibit GH release. However in pigs somatostatin can stimulate or inhibit in vitro GH secretion in a dose- and somatotrope subpopulation-dependent manner. We report herein that somatostatin-stimulated GH release is blocked by pretreatment with GTPgamma-S, suggesting an involvement of G protein-coupled receptors. Consistent with this, an sst5 selective agonist stimulated spontaneous GH secretion at doses ranging 10(-13) to 10(-9) m, without influencing GHRH-induced GH release. Conversely, sst1-, sst2-, sst3-, and sst4-specific agonists inhibited GHRH-evoked GH release but not basal GH secretion. Examination of the effects of sst-specific agonists on two subpopulations of somatotrope cells separated by density gradient centrifugation [low- (LD) and high-density (HD) cells] showed that only a low dose of the sst5 agonist stimulated GH release in LD somatotropes, whereas both low and high doses of this agonist stimulated GH release in HD cells. In marked contrast, sst1 and sst2 agonists blocked GHRH-stimulated GH release in LD cells at all doses tested, whereas only a high dose of the sst2 agonist inhibited GHRH-induced GH release in HD somatotropes. Interestingly, sst expression pattern in these subpopulations correlates with the distinct actions of sst-selective agonists; specifically, sst5 is more abundant in HD somatotropes, whereas sst1 and sst2 mRNA predominate in LD cells. These results indicate that in the pig, sst1 and sst2 are the primary mediators of the inhibitory effects of somatostatin, whereas sst5 or an sst5-related mechanism mediates the stimulatory action of somatostatin on GH release.