Cytochrome c oxidase, the terminal enzyme of the mitochondrial respiratory chain, catalyzes the electron transfer from reduced cytochrome c to oxygen. It is a heteromeric complex consisting of 3 catalytic subunits encoded by mitochondrial genes and multiple structural subunits encoded by nuclear genes. The mitochondrially-encoded subunits function in electron transfer, and the nuclear-encoded subunits may be involved in the regulation and assembly of the complex. This nuclear gene encodes subunit VIc, which has 77% amino acid sequence identity with mouse subunit VIc. This gene is up-regulated in prostate cancer cells. A pseudogene has been found on chromosomes 16p12.