Hormone dependent protease required for epithelial morphogenesis, including the formation of bristles, legs, and wings. Has a dual function, detaches imaginal disk cells from extracellular matrices through its extracellular proteolytic domain and transmits an outside-to-inside signal to its intracellular domain to modify the cytoskeleton during morphogenesis. By 20-hydroxyecdysone (20HE). May activate itself by proteolytic cleavage. Belongs to the peptidase S1 family. It is uncertain whether Met-1 or Met-24 is the initiator.