Death Associated Protein 5 (DAP5) is a 97 kDa protein with high amino acid sequence homology to Eukaryotic Translation Initiation Factor 4G (eIF4G). Compared with eIF4G, DAP5 lacks the N-terminal region necessary for cap-dependent translation and has a unique C-terminal part functioning as a regulator for interferon-gamma induced cell death. During apoptosis, DAP5 is cleaved at Asp790. The C-terminal truncated form of DAP5 functions as a cap-independent translation initiation factor responsible for the mediation of its own translation during apoptosis.