Cytochrome c oxidase (COX), 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 polypeptide 2 (heart/muscle isoform) of subunit VIa, and polypeptide 2 is present only in striated muscles. Polypeptide 1 (liver isoform) of subunit VIa is encoded by a different gene, and is found in all non-muscle tissues. These two polypeptides share 66% amino acid sequence identity.