This gene encodes a member of protein family containing a characteristic Asp-Glu-Ala-Asp (DEAD) motif. These proteins are putative RNA helicases, and may be involved in a range of nuclear processes including translational initiation, nuclear and mitochondrial splicing, and ribosome and spliceosome assembly. Multiple alternatively spliced transcript variants have been found for this gene. Pseudogenes have been identified on chromosomes 1 and 12. [provided by RefSeq, Feb 2016].