Mammalian caspases can be subdivided into three functional groups: initiator caspases (caspase 2, 8, 9 and 10), executioner caspases (caspase 3, 6 and 7), and inflammatory caspases (caspase 1, 4, 5, 11 and 12). Initiator caspases initiate the apoptosis signal while the executioner caspases carry out the mass proteolysis that leads to apoptosis. Inflammatory caspases do not function in apoptosis but are rather involved in inflammatory cytokine signaling and other types of cell death such as pyroptosis.