CASP12 (Caspase 12) is an anti-inflammatory caspase that mediates apoptosis in response to endoplasmic reticulum stress in rodents. In humans, a majority of individuals have a premature stop codon in the CASP12 gene that results in a truncated and non-functional (but expressed) translated protein. Some individuals of primarily African descent have an alternate read-through codon that results in the translation of a functional CASP12 protein. These individuals have endotoxin hypo-responsiveness and an increased susceptibility to severe sepsis. CASP12 has also been found to be expressed in cancer, including multiple myeloma, gastrointestinal stromal tumors, glioblastoma and nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells. In immunohistochemistry, CASP12 has cytoplasmic (endoplasmic reticulum) positivity in the small intestine, heart, spleen, stomach, kidney, liver, lung, pancreas, thymus and testis. References: Nature. 2004. 429 (6987): 75–9, PMID: 15129283; Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 106 (22): 9016–20, PMID: 19447924; Oncotarget. 2017 May 16; 8(20): 33515–33526, PMID: 28380444; Immunol Lett. 2016 May;173:21-5, PMID: 26973091