RNA helicases are critical regulators at the nexus of multiple pathways of RNA metabolism, and in the complex cellular environment, tight spatial and temporal regulation of their activity is essential. Dedicated protein cofactors play key roles in recruiting helicases to specific substrates and modulating their catalytic activity. Alongside individual RNA helicase cofactors, networks of cofactors containing evolutionarily conserved domains such as the G-patch and MIF4G domains highlight the potential for cross-regulation of different aspects of gene expression. Structural analyses of RNA helicase–cofactor complexes now provide insight into the diverse mechanisms by which cofactors can elicit specific and coordinated regulation of RNA helicase action. Furthermore, post-translational modifications (PTMs) and long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) regulators have recently emerged as novel modes of RNA helicase regulation.

RNA解旋酶是RNA代谢多种途径之间的关键调节剂，在复杂的细胞环境中，对其活性进行严格的时空调节至关重要。专用蛋白质辅因子在将解旋酶募集到特定底物并调节其催化活性中起关键作用。除单个RNA解旋酶辅助因子外，包含进化保守结构域（例如G-patch和MIF4G域）的辅助因子网络突显了交叉调控基因表达不同方面的潜力。RNA解旋酶-辅因子复合物的结构分析现在提供了对多种机制的了解，辅因子可以通过这些机制引发RNA解旋酶作用的特异性和协调性调节。此外，