Viruses hijack the host cell machinery and recruit host proteins to aid their replication. Several host proteins also play vital roles in inhibiting viral replication. Emerging class of host proteins central to both of these processes are the DEAD-box helicases: a highly conserved family of ATP-dependent RNA helicases, bearing a common D-E-A-D (Asp–Glu–Ala–Asp) motif. They play key roles in numerous cellular processes, including transcription, splicing, miRNA biogenesis and translation. Though their sequences are highly conserved, these helicases have quite diverse roles in the cell. Interestingly, often these helicases display contradictory actions in terms of the support and/or clearance of invading viruses. Increasing evidence highlights the importance of these enzymes, however, little is known about the structural basis of viral RNA recognition by the members of the DEAD-box family. This review summarizes the current knowledge in the field for selected DEAD-box helicases and highlights their diverse actions upon viral invasion of the host cell. We anticipate that through a better understanding of how these helicases are being utilized by viral RNAs and proteins to aid viral replication, it will be possible to address the urgent need to develop novel therapeutic approaches to combat viral infections.

病毒劫持宿主细胞机制并募集宿主蛋白以帮助其复制。几种宿主蛋白​​在抑制病毒复制中也起着至关重要的作用。在这两个过程中都至关重要的新兴宿主蛋白类别是DEAD-box解旋酶：一个高度保守的ATP依赖性RNA解旋酶家族，带有常见的DEAD（Asp–Glu–Ala–Asp）基序。它们在众多细胞过程中起关键作用，包括转录，剪接，miRNA生物发生和翻译。尽管它们的序列是高度保守的，但是这些解旋酶在细胞中具有相当不同的作用。有趣的是，这些解旋酶通常在支持和/或清除入侵病毒方面表现出相互矛盾的作用。越来越多的证据凸显了这些酶的重要性，但是，关于DEAD-box家族成员对病毒RNA识别的结构基础知之甚少。这篇综述总结了所选DEAD-box解旋酶在该领域的当前知识，并着重介绍了它们在病毒侵染宿主细胞后的多种作用。我们预计，通过更好地了解病毒RNA和蛋白质如何利用这些解旋酶来帮助病毒复制，将有可能解决开发对抗病毒感染的新型治疗方法的迫切需求。