Involved in the activation cascade of caspases responsible for apoptosis execution. At the onset of apoptosis it proteolytically cleaves poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) at a '216-Asp- ; -Gly-217' bond. Cleaves and activates sterol regulatory element binding proteins (SREBPs) between the basic helix-loop-helix leucine zipper domain and the membrane attachment domain. Cleaves and activates caspase-6, -7 and -9.
Heterotetramer that consists of two anti-parallel arranged heterodimers, each one formed by a 17 kDa (p17) and a 12 kDa (p12) subunit (By similarity). Subunit p17 interacts with asfivirus A224L protein.