Anti-TNF-alpha antibodies enable researchers to detect and measure the TNF-alpha antigen in biological samples. This target is a reported synonym of the TNF gene, which encodes tumor necrosis factor. This protein is known to function in the apoptotic pathway, among other biological roles. The human version of TNF-alpha has a canonical amino acid length of 233 residues and a protein mass of 25.6 kilodaltons. It is reported to be localized in the cell membrane and is secreted of cells and notably expressed in the tonsil. TNF-alpha is a member of the Tumor necrosis factor protein family.