cAMP
Science & Engineering abbreviation · Biology
| Stands for | Cyclic adenosine monophosphate |
|---|---|
| Categories | Science & Engineering |
cAMP stands for Cyclic adenosine monophosphate, a biology abbreviation.
Second messenger that relays signals from hormones such as adrenaline and glucagon, which cannot enter cells, to enzymes inside them. When a receptor on the cell surface is activated, adenylyl cyclase converts ATP into cAMP, which in turn activates protein kinase A.
Example: Caffeine raises cAMP levels by inhibiting the phosphodiesterase enzymes that break it down.
Usage notes
Earl Sutherland discovered cAMP in the 1950s and received the 1971 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, establishing the concept of second messengers. Cholera toxin causes severe diarrhea by locking intestinal cells into producing cAMP. Pronounced "cyclic A-M-P" or "see-amp."
Related abbreviations
More biology abbreviations
- AMP – Adenosine monophosphate
- ATP – Adenosine triphosphate
- BMR – Basal metabolic rate
- BSA – Bovine serum albumin
- BSL – Biosafety level
- CAM – Crassulacean acid metabolism
- Cas9 – CRISPR-associated protein 9
- CFU – Colony-forming unit
- CHO – Chinese hamster ovary (cells)
- CRISPR – Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats
- cryo-EM – Cryogenic electron microscopy
- DAPI – 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole