Caspases are a family of cysteine-aspartic acid proteases that cleave caspase proenzymes as well as other protein substrates. Caspases are well known for their role in apoptosis, but they also play a significant role in other cellular processes including inflammation (1). Apoptotic caspases include Caspases-3, -6, -7, -8, and -9. Meanwhile, human inflammatory caspases include Caspases-1, -4, -5, and -12.
