Caspases are typically known for their role in cell death. However some caspases have recently been investigated for their function during cell proliferation and differentiation. Of these caspase-14 shows a unique expression pattern in the skin and appears to be involved in keratinocyte differentiation. Procaspase-14 is detected in the stratifying epithelium while activated caspase-14 is found only in terminally differentiated keratinocytes (1). Caspase-14 activity is not involved in apoptosis. Instead, caspase-14 is important for keratinization of the epithelium.
