This gene encodes a cysteine protease that has a strict specificity for hydrolysis of asparaginyl bonds. This enzyme may be involved in the processing of bacterial peptides and endogenous proteins for MHC class II presentation in the lysosomal/endosomal systems. Enzyme activation is triggered by acidic pH and appears to be autocatalytic. Protein expression occurs after monocytes differentiate into dendritic cells. A fully mature, active enzyme is produced following lipopolysaccharide expression in mature dendritic cells. Overexpression of this gene may be associated with the majority of solid tumor types. This gene has a pseudogene on chromosome 13. Several alternatively spliced transcript variants have been described, but the biological validity of only two has been determined. These two variants encode the same isoform. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]