Anti-melanocyte inducing transcription factor antibodies are used for the immunodetection of the protein encoded by the MITF gene. In humans, the canonical protein has a reported length of 526 amino acid residues and a mass of 58.8 kDa. Its subcellular localization is in the nucleus and cytoplasm. Alternative splicing is reported to yield 12 different isoforms for this protein. It is reported to be expressed in melanocytes. A member of the MiT/TFE protein family, it is reported to be a transcription factor that regulates the expression of genes with essential roles in cell differentiation, proliferation and survival. Post-translational modifications have been described, including ubiquitination and phosphorylation. The gene encoding this protein is implicated in Waardenburg syndrome. Other names for this target antigen include COMMAD, MI, MITF-A, WS2, WS2A, bHLHe32, microphthalmia-associated transcription factor, and CMM8. Gene orthologs have been identified in the mouse, rat, bovine, frog, chimpanzee and chicken species.