Caspases are a family of cysteine proteases that can be divided into the apoptotic and inflammatory caspase subfamilies. Unlike the apoptotic caspases, members of the inflammatory subfamily are generally not involved in cell death but are associated with the immune response to microbial pathogens. The apoptotic subfamily can be further divided into initiator caspases, which are activated in response to death signals, and executioner caspases, which are activated by the initiator caspases and are responsible for cleavage of cellular substrates that ultimately lead to cell death. Caspase-3 is synthesized as an inactive proenzyme that undergoes proteolytic cleavage by caspases 8, 9 and 10 to produce 2 subunits, termed p20 and p11. These subunits dimerize to form the active enzyme. Caspase-3 proteolytically cleaves and activates other proteins such as caspases 6, 7 and 9.Synonyms: Apopain, CASP-3, CASP3, CPP-32, CPP32, Cysteine protease CPP32, SCA-1, SCA1, SREBP cleavage activity 1, Yama protein