Caspase 13 or ERICE ("evolutionarily related interleukin-1β converting enzyme") is a protein that was identified in cattle. It belongs to a family of enzymes called caspases that cleave their substrates at C-terminal aspartic acid residues. Although this enzyme was originally reported as a human caspase that could be activated by caspase 8,^[1] later studies confirmed the gene identified for caspase 13 came from bovine origin, and is the likely orthologue of human caspase 4.^[2][3]