 Poly, ADP ribose, polymerase-1, PARP-1, is a protein that plays a central role in various physiological and pathological functions, including DNA damage repair, gene transcription, immune responses, inflammation, learning, memory, synaptic functions, angiogenesis and aging. In the CNS, PARP inhibition attenuates injury in pathologies like cerebral ischemia, trauma, and excitotoxity. Suicidal proteases such as cuspases, calpanes, cathepsins, granzymes, and matrix metalloproteinases, MMPs, can cleave PARP-1 into specific fragments that serve as biomarkers for unique cell death programs. The roles played by some of the PARP-1 fragments and their associated binding partners in controlling different forms of cell death are also discussed. This article was authored by Alexander Jonathan S, Chaitanya Gonta, and Babu Fanithai. We are article.tv, links in the description below.