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Background: Calpains are ubiquitous, well-conserved family of calcium-dependent, cysteine proteases. The calpain proteins are heterodimers consisting of an invariant small subunit and variable large subunits. The large subunit possesses a cysteine protease domain, and both subunits possess calcium-binding domains. Calpains have been implicated in neurodegenerative processes, as their activation can be triggered by calcium influx and oxidative stress. The function of the protein encoded by this gene is not known. An orthologue has been found in mouse but it seems to diverge from other family members. The mouse orthologue is thought to be calcium independent with protease activity. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008],