Plays a role in modulating chloride current across the plasma membrane in a calcium-dependent manner, and cell adhesion. Involved in basal cell adhesion and/or stratification of squamous epithelia. May act as a tumor suppressor in breast and colorectal cancer. Plays a key role for cell adhesion in the beginning stages of lung metastasis via the binding to ITGB4. Highly expressed in eye, spleen, lung, kidney, uterus, and endothelial cells. Weakly expressed in heart and throughout the gastrointestinal tract. Highly expressed in mammary cell lines. Its expression in immortalized cell line HC11 correlates with slow or arrested growth. Re-expression in mammary tumor cells reduces colony survival. By 30-fold when cells are deprived of growth factors or anchorage in mammary epithelial cell. Down-regulated in metastatic mammary tumor cell lines. The metalloprotease region is responsible for autoproteolytic processing. It can also cross-cleave other CLCA substrates. The translation product is autoproteolytically cleaved by the metalloprotease domain in the endoplasmic reticulum into a N-terminal and a C-terminal products that remain physically associated with each other. The cleavage is necessary for calcium-activated chloride channel (CaCC) activation activity. N-glycosylated. Belongs to the CLCR family.