Accepted Abbreviations
Abbreviations are in alphabetical order by definition. Please use Ctrl+F to locate abbreviations.
A
Definition | Abbreviation |
acceleration of free fall | g |
adrenocorticotropic hormone | ACTH |
adenosine 5´-phosphate | AMP |
adenosine 5´-diphosphate | ADP |
adenosine 5´-triphosphate | ATP |
adenosine triphosphatase | ATPase |
advanced glycation end-product | AGE |
albumin excretion rate | AER |
allophycocyanin | APC |
American Diabetes Association | ADA |
ampère | A |
analysis of covariance | ANCOVA |
analysis of variance | ANOVA |
angiotensin-converting enzyme | ACE |
area under the curve | AUC |
atom per cent excess | APE |
B
Definition | Abbreviation |
base pair | bp |
becquerel | Bq |
bicinchoninic acid | BCA |
blood pressure | BP, express in mmHg |
body mass index | BMI |
bovine serum albumin | BSA |
bromodeoxyuridine/5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine | BrdU |
C
Definition | Abbreviation |
5’—C—phosphate—G—3′ | CpG |
carbonyl cyanide 4-(trifluoromethoxy)phenylhydrazone | FCCP |
cardiovascular disease | CVD |
centimetre (square centimetre) | cm (cm2) |
chi-square | χ2 |
cluster of differentiation | CD |
coefficient of variation | CV |
coenzyme A and its acyl derivatives | CoA and acyl-CoA |
complementary DNA | cDNA |
confidence interval | CI |
Connaught Medical Research Laboratories (medium) | CMRL |
coronary heart disease | CHD |
coronavirus disease-2019 | COVID-19 |
correlation coefficient | r |
counts/minute; counts/second | cpm; cps |
clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats | CRISPR |
cyan fluorescent protein | CFP |
Cycle threshold | Ct |
cycles/second (frequency) | Hz |
cyclic adenosine 3´,5´- monophosphate | cAMP |
cyclic guanosine 3´,5´-monophosphate | cyclic GMP |
D
Definition | Abbreviation |
dates | 2 November 1998 |
degrees, Celsius or centigrade | °C |
degrees of freedom | df |
deoxyribonuclease | DNase |
deoxyribonucleic acid | DNA |
Diabetes Control and Complications Trial | DCCT |
4´,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole | DAPI |
dimethylsulphoxide | DMSO |
disintegrations/minute | dpm |
disintegrations/second | dps |
dissociation constant | Kd |
doses | avoid Latin designations (for instance, b. d. or t. i. d.) |
Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium | DMEM |
E
Definition | Abbreviation |
5-ethynyl-2´-deoxyuridine | EdU |
electrocardiogram | ECG |
electroencephalogram | EEG |
enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay | ELISA |
Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications | EDIC |
epidermal growth factor | EGF |
estimated glomerular filtration rate | eGFR (units are styled as ml/min per 1.73 m2) |
ethylene diamime tetra-acetic acid | EDTA |
ethylene glycol-O–O´-bis(2-amino-ethyl)-N, N, N´, N´-tetraacetic acid | EGTA |
European Association for the Study of Diabetes | EASD |
extracellular signal-regulated kinase | ERK |
F
Definition | Abbreviation |
fetal bovine serum | FBS |
fetal calf serum | FCS |
flavin adenine dinucleotide | FAD |
flavin adenine dinucleotide (reduced form) | FADH2 |
fluorescein isothiocyanate | FITC |
fluorescence activated cell sorter | FACS |
fractional disappearance rate | k |
forward scatter | FSC (including FSC-A, FSC-H) |
free fatty acids – not used; use non-esterified fatty acids | NEFA |
G
Definition | Abbreviation |
gas chromatography | GC |
gas chromatography-mass spectrometry | GC-MS |
glomerular filtration rate | GFR (units are generally styled ml/min per 1.73 m2) |
glucose tolerance test | GTT |
glucose transporter | GLUT |
glutamic acid decarboxylase | GAD |
glutamic acid decarboxylase autoantibodies | GADA |
glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase | GAPDH |
gram | g |
gravitational field, unit of | g |
green fluorescent protein | GFP |
guanosine 5´-phosphate | GMP |
guanosine 5´-diphosphate | GDP |
guanosine 5´-triphosphate | GTP |
H
Definition | Abbreviation |
haemoglobin A1 | HbA1 |
haemoglobin A1c | HbA1c |
haematoxylin and eosin | H&E |
half-life | t1/2 |
half maximal effective concentration | IC50 |
half maximal inhibitory concentration | EC50 |
hazard ratio | HR |
hertz | Hz |
high density lipoprotein | HDL |
high performance liquid chromatography | HPLC |
HLA nomenclature | Bodmer et al. (1997) |
homeostatic model assessment | HOMA |
homeostatic model assessment-beta cell function | HOMA-B |
homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance | HOMA-IR |
hour | h |
human immunodeficiency virus | HIV |
human leucocyte antigen | HLA |
human umbilical vein endothelial cells | HUVECs Human Immunology 53: 98–128 |
4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazineethanesulphonic acid |
HEPES |
I
Definition | Abbreviation |
immunoglobulins A, D, E, G, M | IgA, IgD, IgE, IgG, IgM |
insulin autoantibodies | IAA |
insulin-like growth factor | IGF |
insulin-receptor substrate | IRS |
insulin tolerance test | ITT |
interferon | IFN |
interleukin | IL |
International Classification of Disease | ICD |
International Diabetes Federation | IDF |
interquartile range | IQR; Q1–Q3 also acceptable |
intraperitoneal | i.p. |
intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test | IPGTT |
intraperitoneal insulin tolerance test | IPITT |
intravenous | i.v. |
intravenous glucose tolerance test | IVGTT |
islet antigen-2 | IA-2 |
islet antigen-2 autoantibodies | IA-2A |
islet cell autoantibodies | ICA |
J
Definition | Abbreviation |
joule | J |
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (not strictly an abbreviation any more, as the organisation has changed its name to ‘JDRF’) | JDRF |
K
Definition | Abbreviation |
kilobase | kb |
kilocalories | kcal |
kilogram | kg |
Krebs-Ringer buffer | KRB |
L
Definition | Abbreviation |
lipoproteins (serum) – high density | HDL |
lipoproteins (serum) – low density | LDL |
lipoproteins (serum) – very low density | VLDL |
liquid chromatography | LC |
liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry | LC-MS/MS |
litre | l (write in full if confusion with numeral 1 possible) |
logarithm (base 10) | log10 |
logarithm (base e) | ln |
low density lipoprotein | LDL |
M
Definition | Abbreviation |
magnetic resonance imaging | MRI |
major histocompatibility complex | MHC |
mass spectrometry | MS |
maturity onset diabetes of the young | MODY |
maximal oxygen consumption | V̇O2max |
maximum velocity | Vmax |
median effective dose | ED50 |
median lethal dose | LD50 |
messenger ribonucleic acid | mRNA |
metre (square metre) | m (m2) |
Michaelis constant | Km |
micromole | µmol |
micron (10–6 m) | µm |
microRNA | miRNA |
milliequivalents | not used; use: mmol/l |
millilitre | ml |
millimetre (millimetre squared) | mm (mm2) |
millimetre of mercury | mmHg for blood pressure (1 mmHg = 0.133 kPa) |
millimolar (concentration) | mmol/l (not mM) |
millimole | mmol |
milliosmole | mosmol |
milliunit | mU |
millivolt | mV |
minute (60 seconds) | min |
mitogen-activated protein kinase | MAPK |
molar (concentration) | mol/l (not M) |
mole | mol |
molecular weight | mol. wt or Mr (not daltons) |
N
Definition | Abbreviation |
nanogram | ng |
National Center for Biotechnology Information | NCBI |
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence | NICE |
National Institute for Health and Care Research | NIHR |
National Institutes of Health | NIH |
neutral protamine Hagedorn insulin | NPH insulin |
nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide | NAD if oxidation state not indicated NAD+ if oxidized NADH if reduced |
nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide phosphate | NADP if oxidation state not indicated NADP+ if oxidized NADPH if reduced |
non-esterified fatty acid | NEFA |
non-obese diabetic mouse | NOD mouse |
not significant | NS |
nuclear factor kappa beta | NF-κB |
nuclear magnetic resonance | NMR |
number in a sample | n |
O
Definition | Abbreviation |
odds ratio | OR |
oral glucose tolerance test | OGTT |
osmolality | express in osmol/kg or mosmol/kg |
oxygen consumption | V̇O2 |
P
Definition | Abbreviation |
parts per million | ppm |
pascal | Pa |
peak oxygen consumption | V̇O2peak |
per cent | % |
phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase | PEPCK |
phosphate-buffered saline | PBS |
phosphorylated protein | p-[protein abbreviation/name] |
picogram | pg |
polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis | PAGE |
polymerase chain reaction | PCR |
polyvinylidene difluoride | PVDF |
pressure | express in kPa (except for blood pressure and gas tensions) (1 kPa = 7.5 mm Hg) |
probability of an event being due to chance alone | p |
Protein kinase B | Akt |
R
Definition | Abbreviation |
radioimmunoassay | RIA |
radioimmunoprecipitation assay buffer | RIPA buffer |
randomised controlled trial | RCT |
rate constant | k |
relative risk | RR |
respiratory quotient | RQ |
restriction fragment length polymorphism | RFLP |
reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction | RT-PCR |
revolutions | rev |
revolutions/minute | rev/min (not rpm) (use g if appropriate) |
rhodamine isothiocyanate | RITC |
ribonuclease | RNase |
ribonucleic acid | RNA |
RNA sequencing | RNA-seq |
Roswell Park Memorial Institute medium | RPMI medium |
S
Definition | Abbreviation |
saline | do not use; give strength of solution (e. g. NaCl 154 mmol/l) |
second (time) | s |
side scatter | SSC (including SSC-A, SSC-H) |
single nucleotide polymorphism | SNP |
small interfering RNA | siRNA |
sodium dodecyl sulphate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis | SDS-PAGE |
species (plural) | Spp. |
species (singular) | Sp. |
specific activity | sp. act. |
standard deviation | SD |
standard error | SE (but ask author if it should be changed to SEM, unless it is clearly stated what it is, e.g. SE of the estimate) |
standard error of the mean | SEM |
steroid nomenclature | see Eur J Biochem (1989) 186: 429–458 |
subcutaneously | s. c. |
sum | Σ |
T
Definition | Abbreviation |
terminal deoxynucleotidyl-transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labelling | TUNEL |
tetramethylrhodamine isothiocyanate | TRITC |
thyroxine (3,3´,5,5´ tetraiodothyronine) | T4 |
time of day | e. g. 18:15 hours |
transforming growth factor | TGF |
transport rate (maximum) | Tm |
triiodothyronine (3,3´,5- triiodothyronine) | T3 |
tris-buffered saline | TBS |
tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane | TRIS |
tumour necrosis factor-α | TNF-α |
two-dimensional/three-dimensional | 2D/3D |
W
Definition | Abbreviation |
waist-to-hip ratio | WHR |
watt | W |
wavelength | λ |
wingless/Int-1 | Wnt |
World Health Organization | WHO |
Z
Definition | Abbreviation |
zinc transporter 8 | ZnT8 |
zinc transporter 8 autoantibodies | ZnT8A |