DEAD box proteins characterized by the conserved motif Asp-Glu-Ala-Asp (DEAD), are putative RNA helicases. They are implicated in a number of cellular processes involving alteration of RNA secondary structure such as translation initiation, nuclear and mitochondrial splicing, and ribosome and spliceosome assembly. Based on their distribution patterns, some members of the DEAD box protein family are believed to be involved in embryogenesis, spermatogenesis, and cellular growth and division. The function of this gene product which is a member of this family, has not been determined. Alternatively spliced transcript variants have been found for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Jun 2010]