Probable ATP-dependent RNA helicase DDX58 is an enzyme

Enzyme

Enzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process, called substrates, are converted into different molecules, called products. Almost all chemical reactions in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur at rates...

 that in humans is encoded by the DDX58 gene

Gene

A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...

. It codes for a protein

Protein

Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...

 called retinoic acid-inducible gene 1 protein (or RIG-I), also known as DEAD-box protein 58 (DDX58), which is a cell receptor found in the cytoplasm

Cytoplasm

The cytoplasm is a small gel-like substance residing between the cell membrane holding all the cell's internal sub-structures , except for the nucleus. All the contents of the cells of prokaryote organisms are contained within the cytoplasm...

 of cells

Cell (biology)

The cell is the basic structural and functional unit of all known living organisms. It is the smallest unit of life that is classified as a living thing, and is often called the building block of life. The Alberts text discusses how the "cellular building blocks" move to shape developing embryos....

. RIG-I is part of the RIG-I-like receptor (RLR) family, which also includes MDA5 and LGP2, and functions as a pattern recognition receptor

Pattern recognition receptor

Pattern recognition receptors are a primitive part of the immune system. They are proteins expressed by cells of the innate immune system to identify pathogen-associated molecular patterns , which are associated with microbial pathogens or cellular stress, as well as damage-associated molecular...

 that is a sensor for virus

Virus

A virus is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of organisms. Viruses infect all types of organisms, from animals and plants to bacteria and archaea...

es. DDX58 and MDA5

IFIH1

Interferon-induced helicase C domain-containing protein 1, also known as MDA5 , is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the IFIH1 gene...

 are involved in activating MAVS

VISA (gene)

Mitochondrial antiviral-signaling protein is a protein that in humans is encoded by the MAVS gene. The protein is also known by the names VISA, IPS-1 and Cardif. Aggregated MAVS form protease resistant prion-like aggregates that activate IRF3 dimerization. - NCBI Refseq summary of MAVS :-Further...

 and triggering an antiviral response.

Function

DEAD box

DEAD box

DEAD box proteins are involved in an assortment of metabolic processes that involve RNA. They are highly conserved in nine domains and can be found in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes, but not all...

 proteins, characterized by the conserved motif Asp-Glu-Ala-Asp (DEAD), are putative RNA helicases which are implicated in a number of cellular processes involving RNA

RNA

Ribonucleic acid , or RNA, is one of the three major macromolecules that are essential for all known forms of life....

 binding and alteration of RNA secondary structure. This gene encodes a protein containing RNA helicase-DEAD box protein motifs and a caspase recruitment domain

CARD domain

Caspase recruitment domains, or Caspase activation and recruitment domains , are interaction motifs found in a wide array of proteins, typically those involved in processes relating to inflammation and apoptosis. These domains mediate the formation of larger protein complexes via direct...

 (CARD). It is involved in viral double-stranded (ds) RNA recognition and the regulation of immune response

Immune system

An immune system is a system of biological structures and processes within an organism that protects against disease by identifying and killing pathogens and tumor cells. It detects a wide variety of agents, from viruses to parasitic worms, and needs to distinguish them from the organism's own...

.