| ACTH | adrenocorticotrop(h)ic hormone |
| ADP | adenosine 5'-diphosphate |
| AMP | adenosine 5'-monophosphate |
| ATP | adenosine 5'-triphosphate |
| ATPase | adenosine triphosphatase |
| cAMP | cyclic AMP |
| cDNA | complementary DNA |
| DNA | deoxyribonucleic acid |
| EDTA | ethylenediaminetetra-acetic acid |
| EGTA | ethyene glycol bis(β-aminoethylether)N,N,N',N,-tetraacetic acid |
| FAD | flavin adenine dinucleotide |
| FADH2 | reduced form of FAD |
| GDP | guanosine 5'-diphosphate |
| GMP | guanosine 5'-monophosphate |
| GTP | guanosine 5'-triphosphate |
| Hb | hemoglobin |
| HEPES | 4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazineethanesulfonic acid |
| LD50 | median lethal dose (lethal for 50% of test subjects) |
| ln, loge | natural logarithm |
| log | logarithm |
| mRNA | messenger RNA |
| NAD | nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide |
| NAD+ | oxidized form of NAD |
| NADH | reduced form of NAD |
| NADP | NAD phosphate |
| NADP+ | oxidized form of NADP |
| NADPH | reduced form of NADP |
| PAGE | polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis |
| PCR | polymerase chain reaction |
| pH | negative log of hydrogen-ion concentration |
| Pi, PPi | inorganic phosphate, inorganic pyrophosphate |
| pK | negative log of dissociation constant |
| polyA | poly(adenylic acid) or polyadenylate |
| RNA | ribonucleic acid or ribonucleate |
| RNase | ribonuclease |
| rRNA | ribosomal RNA |
| SD | standard deviation |
| SDS | sodium dodecyl sulfate |
| SEM, SE | standard error of the mean, standard error |
| Tris | tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane |
| tRNA | transfer RNA |
| UDP | uridine 5'-diphosphate |
| UMP | uridine 5'-monophosphate |
| UTP | uridine 5'-triphosphate |
| UV | ultraviolet |