1F1J, 1GQF, 1I4O, 1I51, 1K86, 1K88, 1KMC, 1SHJ, 1SHL, 2QL5, 2QL7, 2QL9, 2QLB, 2QLF, 2QLJ, 3EDR, 3H1P, 3IBC, 3IBF, 3R5K, 4FDL, 4FEA, 4HQ0, 4HQR, 4JB8, 4JJ8, 4JR1, 4JR2, 4LSZ, 4ZVR, 4ZVQ, 4ZVO, 4ZVU, 4ZVT, 4ZVS, 4ZVP, 5IC684012369ENSG00000165806ENSMUSG00000025076P55210P97864NM_033339NM_033340NM_001320911NM_007611NP_203124NP_203125NP_203126NP_031637Caspase-7, apoptosis-related cysteine peptidase, also known as CASP7, is a human protein encoded by the CASP7 gene.

Unique orthologs are also present in birds, lizards, lissamphibians, and teleosts.

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

Caspases exist as inactive proenzymes that undergo proteolytic processing by upstream caspases (caspase-8, -9) at conserved aspartic residues to produce two subunits, large and small, that dimerize to form the active enzyme in the form of a heterotetramer.

Alternative splicing results in four transcript variants, encoding three distinct isoforms.