Caspases work by cleaving specific substrates within a cell, leading to the systematic dismantling of the cell components. This process is tightly regulated, ensuring that apoptosis occurs in a controlled manner. There are initiator caspases (like caspase-8 and caspase-9) that respond to apoptotic signals and effector caspases (like caspase-3, caspase-6, and caspase-7) that execute the apoptotic program by cleaving various cellular proteins.
