The following and other commonly recognized abbreviations can be used without definition.
Otherwise, abbreviations must be defined the first time they are used in each article.
| adenosine 5’-monophosphate | AMP |
| adenosine 5’-diphosphate | ADP |
| adenosine 5’-triphosphates | ATP |
| adrenocorticotropin | ACTH |
| androgen receptor | AR |
| arginine vasopressin | AVP |
| base pair | bp |
| calcitonin | CT |
| chorionic gonadotropin | CG |
| complementary DNA | cDNA |
| complementary RNA | cRNA |
| corticotropin-releasing hormone | CRH |
| 3’,5’-cyclic AMP | cAMP |
| dalton(s) | Da |
| day(s) | d |
| deoxyribonucleic acid | DNA |
| Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium | DMEM |
| enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay | ELISA |
| estradiol | E2 |
| estrogen receptor | ER |
| ethylenediamine tetra-acetate | EDTA |
| fetal bovine serum | FBS |
| fetal calf serum | FCS |
| follicle-stimulating hormone | FSH |
| free fatty acids | FFA |
| glucocorticoid receptor | GR |
| gonadotropin-releasing hormone | GnRH (LHRH) |
| growth hormone (somatotropin) | GH |
| GH-releasing hormone | GHRH |
| GH-release inhibiting factor (somatostatin) | SRIF (SS) |
| guanosine 5’-monophosphate | GMP |
| guanosine 5’diphosphate | GDP |
| guanosine 5’-triphosphate | GTP |
| GTP-binding protein | G protein |
| half-time | t1/2 |
| N-2-hydroxyethylpiperazine-N’-2-ethane sulfonic acid | HEPES |
| high-performance liquid chromatography | HPLC |
| hour(s) | h |
| insulin-like growth factor I | IGF I |
| insulin-like growth factor II | IGF II |
| interleukin | IL (e.g., IL-1, IL-6) |
| international unit | IU |
| intramuscular(-ly) | im |
| intraperitoneal(-ly) | ip |
| intravenous(-ly) | iv |
| luteinizing hormone | LH |
| liters per mole | M-1 |
| log of the odds | LOD |
| loss of heterozygosity | LOH |
| median effective dose | ED50 |
| messenger RNA | mRNA |
| mineralocorticoid receptor | MR |
| minute(s) | min |
| molar (moles per liter) | M (e.g., 0.1 M, not M/10) |
| molecular weight | mol wt (not used with daltons) |
| month(s) | mo |
| normal (concentration) | N (e.g., 0.1 N, not N/10) |
| not significant | NS |
| nucleotide | nt |
| number | no. |
| open reading frame | ORF |
| oxytocin | OT |
| parathyroid hormone | PTH |
| peroxisomal proliferator-activated receptor | PPAR |
| phosphate-buffered saline | PBS |
| phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase | PI3K |
| polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis | PAGE |
| polymerase chain reaction | PCR |
| probability | p |
| prolactin | PRL |
| prostaglandin | PG |
| protein kinase A (or cAMP-dependent protein kinase) | PKA |
| protein kinase C | PKC |
| PTH-related peptide | PTHrP |
| Radioimmunoassay | RIA |
| reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction | RT-PCR |
| ribonucleic acid | RNA |
| second | sec |
| sex hormone-binding globulin | SHBG |
| sodium dodecyl sulfate | SDS |
| standard deviation | SD |
| standard error | SE |
| standard error of the mean | SEM |
| Student’s t test | t-test |
| subcutaneous(ly) | sc |
| testosterone | T |
| 5α-dihydrotestosterone | 5α-DHT |
| thyroglobulin | Tg |
| thyroid hormone receptor | TR |
| thyrotropin | TSH |
| thyroxine | T₄ |
| 3,5,3’-triiodothyronine | T₃ |
| 3,3’,5’-triiodothyronine | rT₃ |
| transfer RNA | tRNA |
| transforming growth factor | TGF |
| tris(hydroxymethyl)-aminomethane | Tris |
| TSH-releasing hormone | TRH |
| tumor necrosis factor | TNF |
| vasoactive intestinal peptide | VIP |
| vitamin D receptor | VDR |
| volume | vol |
| week(s) | wk |
| weight | wt |
| wild-type | WT |
| year(s) | yr |
Steroids should be named according to the rules of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry and International Union of Biochemistry (IUPAC) (Pure and Applied Chem.1989; 61: 1783–1822).
The following trivial names for steroids, however, may be used without definition: