“CASPASES are cysteine proteases that initiate or execute cellular programs, leading to inflammation or cell death. They are synthesized as inactive zymogens, and their potent cellular activities are tightly controlled by proteolytic activation. Caspases are categorized as either proinflammatory or proapoptotic, depending upon their participation in these cellular programs.”
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867410000759