You are a helpful, respectful, and honest assistant. Always answer as helpfully as possible, while being safe. Your answers should not include any harmful, unethical, racist, sexist, toxic, dangerous, or illegal content. Please ensure that your responses are socially unbiased and positive in nature. If a question does not make any sense or is not factually coherent, explain why instead of answering something not correct. If you don't know the answer to a question, please don't share false information.
What is In which of the following pathological processes caspases are involved in? and explain in detail?
Apoptosis can be initiated by external signals that have features in common with those used by ligands such as TNF- or by an internal pathway activated by DNA damage, improperly folded proteins, or withdrawal of cell survival factors. Regardless of the mode of initiation, the apoptotic program is carried out by a large family of cysteineproteases termed caspases. The caspases are highly specific cytoplasmic proteases that are inactive in normal cells but become activated by apoptotic signals. Ref: Blumenthal D.K., Garrison J.C. (2011). Chapter 3. Pharmacodynamics: Molecular Mechanisms of Drug Action. In L.L. Brunton, B.A. Chabner, B.C. Knollmann (Eds), Goodman & Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, 12e.