Caspase 12

Caspase 12 is an enzyme known as a cysteine protease. It belongs to a family of enzymes called caspases that cleave their substrates at C-terminal aspartic acid residues. It is closely related to caspase 1 and other members of the caspase family, known as inflammatory caspases, which process and activate inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin 1 and interleukin 18.

The CASP12 gene is subject to polymorphism, which can generate a full length caspase protein (Csp12L) or an inactive truncated form (Csp12S). The functional form appears to be confined to people of African descent and is linked with susceptiblilty to sepsis; people carrying the functional gene have increased responses to bacterial molecules such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The gene for caspase 12 is found on chromosome 11 in humans in a locus with other inflammatory caspases.