[5][6][7] Orthologs of this gene also exist in other mammals, such as sirenians and cetaceans, though they are inactivated in these two clades.

[8] The CASP14 gene encodes a member of the cysteine-aspartic acid protease (caspase) family.

Sequential activation of caspases plays a central role in the execution-phase of cell apoptosis.

Caspases exist as inactive proenzymes which undergo proteolytic processing at conserved aspartic residues to produce two subunits, large and small, that dimerize to form the active enzyme.

The expression and processing of this caspase may be involved in keratinocyte terminal differentiation, which is important for the formation of the skin barrier.