AAA ATPases (ATPases Associated with diverse cellular Activities) form a large protein family and are involved in various cellular processes such as cell-cycle regulation, protein proteolysis and disaggregation, organelle biogenesis and intracellular transport. Some of them function as molecular chaperones, subunits of proteolytic complexes or independent proteases (FtsH, Lon) whilst others act as DNA helicases and transcription factors PMID:17201069, (INTERPRO:IPR003959).

There are at least six major clades of AAA domains and the domain organisation consists of a non-ATPase N-terminal domain involved in substrate recognition, followed by one or two AAA domains (D1 and D2), one of which may be degenerate. AAA domains are responsible for ATP binding and hydrolysis PMID:17201069.

Structural domains comprising this superfamily share the structure of the AAA domain of Schlafen proteins is is believed to be involved, as other AAA domains, in ATP-binding. It is important to note that this superfamily includes several archaeal proteins annotated as ATP-dependent DNA helicases.