Pharmacological studies have suggested that the somatostatin (SS) receptor is heterogeneous and may exhibit subtypes selective for SS-14 and SS-28. Whether this heterogeneity can be explained by separate molecular forms of the receptor protein is unclear. In the present study, we have developed a novel photosensitive azido derivative of the octapeptide SS analog Tyr3 SMS (EE 581) and used it as a photoaffinity probe to characterize the molecular components of the SS receptor in five receptor positive tissues (normal rat brain, pituitary, pancreas, and adrenal cortex, and mouse AtT-20 pituitary tumor cells). [125I]EE-581 labeled specific high affinity binding sites in all these tissues (Kd range 1.3-1.67 nM). Photoaffinity labeled membrane SS receptors were analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis followed by autoradiography. Three specifically labeled SS receptor proteins of 80 kilodaltons (kDa), 58 kDa, and 32 kDa were identified and exhibited a tissue-specific distribution. The 58 kDa species was the exclusive form in pancreas, adrenal cortex, and AtT-20 cells and the dominant form in brain. The 32 kDa receptor protein was expressed as a minor form (ratio of 58 kDa:32 kDa 3:1), exclusively in brain. The 80 kDa receptor was found only in the pituitary where it occurred as the sole SS receptor species. Competition experiments showed that the 58 kDa and 32 kDa receptor proteins in brain reacted with SS-14 greater than SS-28; in contrast, the 58 kDa protein in AtT-20 cells bound SS-28 greater than SS-14 suggesting the existence of distinct subtypes of the 58 kDa receptor in these two tissues. These data represent the first systematic evaluation of the molecular forms of SS receptor proteins by photoaffinity labeling in different target tissues and provide direct evidence for molecular heterogeneity and SS-14/SS-28 selectivity; a major 58 kDa protein present in most tissues, an additional 32 kDa protein uniquely expressed in brain, and an 80 kDa protein exclusive to the normal pituitary.