The RNA helicase DDX5/p68 is a key factor promoting c-fos expression at different levels from transcription to mRNA export.

It is widely accepted that pre-mRNA maturation, including splicing, is tightly coupled to both transcription and mRNA export, but factors linking the three processes are less understood. By analysing the estrogen-regulated expression of the c-fos mRNA that is processed during transcription, we show that the ddx5 RNA helicase, is required throughout the major nuclear steps of the expression of the c-fos gene, from transcription to mRNA export. Indeed, ddx5, whose recruitment on the c-fos gene was increased upon estrogen treatment, was required for the full transcriptional activation of the c-fos gene. In addition, ddx5 was required for c-fos co-transcriptional RNA splicing. When splicing occurred post-transcriptionally in the absence of ddx5, the c-fos mRNA was poorly exported into the cytosol because of inefficient recruitment of the TAP mRNA export receptor. Finally, ddx5 was present in the c-fos messenger ribonucleoprotein together with mRNA export factors, which further supports that ddx5 is a key operator in the c-fos 'mRNA factory'.