Madam

Madam /ˈmædəm/, or, as French, madame /ˈmædəm/ or mə-dam', is a polite form of address for women, often contracted to ma'am /ˈmæm/. The abbreviation is "Mme" and the plural is mesdames (abbreviated Mmes). The term was borrowed from the French madame (French pronunciation: ​[maˈdam]), which means "my lady".

Use as a form of address

In speaking, Madam is used in direct address when the lady's name is not known; for example: May I help you, madam? In the United States, "ma'am" is usually used, except in regions such as New England where particular ties to England still exist. Even then, "madam" tends to only be used when addressing the elderly, with "ma'am" being used for a younger woman. The male equivalent is "sir".

Formal protocol

After addressing her as "Your Majesty" once, it is correct to address the Queen of the United Kingdom as "Ma'am" for the remainder of a conversation.

In 2009 the European Parliament issued guidance on the use of gender-neutral language which discouraged the use of terms which indicate a woman's marital status.

MME

MME may stand for:

Neprilysin

Neprilysin (/ˌnɛprᵻˈlaɪsᵻn/ ), also known as membrane metallo-endopeptidase (MME), neutral endopeptidase (NEP), cluster of differentiation 10 (CD10), and common acute lymphoblastic leukemia antigen (CALLA) is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the MME gene. Neprilysin is a zinc-dependent metalloprotease that cleaves peptides at the amino side of hydrophobic residues and inactivates several peptide hormones including glucagon, enkephalins, substance P, neurotensin, oxytocin, and bradykinin. It also degrades the amyloid beta peptide whose abnormal misfolding and aggregation in neural tissue has been implicated as a cause of Alzheimer's disease. Synthesized as a membrane-bound protein, the neprilysin ectodomain is released into the extracellular domain after it has been transported from the Golgi apparatus to the cell surface.

Neprilysin is expressed in a wide variety of tissues and is particularly abundant in kidney. It is also a common acute lymphocytic leukemia antigen that is an important cell surface marker in the diagnosis of human acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). This protein is present on leukemic cells of pre-B phenotype, which represent 85% of cases of ALL.