CASP9 and viral infectious disease: Further, caspase-9 was associated with non-lethal functions [118] such as myocyte differentiation and proliferation [119], hematopoietic development [120], immune response to viral infection [121], axon guidance [122] or axon-selective degeneration [44] etc. In a therapeutic invention, caspase-9 may play a central role in pathogenesis of stroke, neurodegenerative diseases, or brain injury caused by hypoxia [123].