To directly determine if RIPK1 activation is responsible for the higher cell death rate seen in ZBP1-/ derived astrocytes following caspase inhibition, we simultaneously treated ZBP1+/+ or ZBP1−/− derived astrocytes with a RIPK1 inhibitor (GSK936) and a pan caspase inhibitor (zVAD-FMK) following infection with HSV-1(MacIntyre), HSV-1(F), and HSV-1(F)-ICP6-RHIM Mut strains. Here, RIPK1 is linked to infection.