DEAD-box RNA helicases as transcription cofactors

It is established that several DEAD box RNA helicases perform multiple functions in the cell, often through interactions with different partner proteins in a context-dependent manner. Several studies have shown that some DEAD box proteins play important roles as regulators of transcription, particularly as coactivators or cosuppressors of transcription factors that are themselves highly regulated. Two such RNA helicases are DDX5 (p68) and DDX17 (p72). These proteins are known to function in RNA processing/alternative splicing, but they have also been shown to interact with, and act as coregulators of, transcription factors that are themselves highly regulated. In this chapter, we shall describe protocols we have used to investigate the factors that influence the function of p68 and p72 in transcriptional regulation. These include the interactions of p68 and p72 with transcription factors and/or components of the transcription machinery and posttranslational modification by the small ubiquitin-related modifier, SUMO.