WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

caspase-mediated cell death
    n 1: a type of cell death in which the cell uses specialized
         cellular machinery to kill itself; a cell suicide mechanism
         that enables metazoans to control cell number and eliminate
         cells that threaten the animal's survival [syn:
         apoptosis, programmed cell death, caspase-mediated
         cell death]