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Genetics Library / Genes / SDHC

GENE REFERENCE / HGNC:10682

SDHC

succinate dehydrogenase complex subunit C

protein-coding gene1q23.3Gene information

What does this gene do?

The SDHC gene provides instructions for making one of four subunits of the succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) enzyme. The SDH enzyme plays a critical role in mitochondria, which are structures inside cells that convert the energy from food into a form that cells can use. The SDHC protein helps anchor the SDH enzyme in the mitochondrial membrane.

Within mitochondria, the SDH enzyme links two important cellular pathways in energy conversion: the citric acid cycle (or Krebs cycle) and oxidative phosphorylation. As part of the citric acid cycle, the SDH enzyme converts a compound called succinate to another compound called fumarate. Negatively charged particles called electrons are released during this reaction. The electrons are transferred through the SDH subunits, including the SDHC protein, to the oxidative phosphorylation pathway. In oxidative phosphorylation, the electrons help create an electrical charge that provides energy for the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the cell's main energy source.

Succinate, the compound on which the SDH enzyme acts, is an oxygen sensor in the cell and can help turn on specific pathways that stimulate cells to grow in a low-oxygen environment (hypoxia). In particular, succinate stabilizes a protein called hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) by preventing a reaction that would allow HIF to be broken down. HIF controls several important genes involved in cell division and the formation of new blood vessels in a hypoxic environment.

The SDHC gene is a tumor suppressor, which means it prevents cells from growing and dividing in an uncontrolled way.

Source: MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine. Source publication: 2021-07-13. Source review: 2011-12.

Related condition topics

MedlinePlus mentions this gene in the condition pages below. These links alone do not show that the gene causes a condition.

ClinGen reviews

ClinGen reviews the evidence linking a particular gene to a condition. Each rating below describes the strength of that link. It does not classify a variant in your DNA file.

ConditionInheritanceEvidence
hereditary pheochromocytoma-paragangliomaMONDO:0017366 · Evaluated 2021-06-17Autosomal dominantDefinitiveHereditary Cancer Gene Curation Expert Panel
mitochondrial diseaseMONDO:0044970 · Evaluated 2022-03-07Not specified (UD)No Known Disease RelationshipMitochondrial Diseases Gene Curation Expert Panel

ClinVar records

These numbers show what has been submitted to ClinVar. They cannot tell you how likely you are to have a condition.

Submitted alleles
1,066
Submissions for variants in or overlapping this gene
2,192
Submissions explicitly reporting this gene
2,142
Alleles reported pathogenic / likely pathogenic
122
VariationIDs with uncertain significance
478
VariationIDs with conflicting classifications
53

The rows count different things: alleles, submissions or VariationIDs. Their categories can overlap, so do not add them together. Pathogenic/likely pathogenic counts exclude structural variants that merely overlap a gene. A dash in the source means “not reported,” not zero.

NCBI produces the gene-summary file each week using counts recorded at the start of the month. The numbers may differ from those on the live ClinVar website. Read the field definitions ↗

View this gene in ClinVar ↗

YOUR DNA FILE

Can your DNA file tell you about SDHC?

From a DNA test kit (such as 23andMe, AncestryDNA or MyHeritage). These kits check a fixed list of about 600,000 to 700,000 positions across your whole genome. ClinVar lists 122 alleles in SDHC reported as pathogenic or likely pathogenic. A kit checks only some of these positions, and often none of them.

From whole genome sequencing (a VCF file). Sequencing reads most of your genome. Your file lists the places where your DNA differs from the reference genome. Some regions are hard to sequence, including parts of some genes that have near-identical copies elsewhere, and a VCF file does not record which positions were read well.

If a variant is not in your file, that does not mean you don’t have it.

What BioDecode checks

BioDecode compares every variant in your file with ClinVar, on your own computer. For each match, it shows the ClinVar classification, the review status and the condition it was reported for. Your file is not uploaded.

A ClinVar classification applies to one particular variant and the condition it was reported for. It does not tell you about other variants in SDHC.

BioDecode cannot fill gaps in your test, diagnose a condition or replace clinical testing.

Sources and dates

The source information on this page last changed on 2026-10-10.

HGNC Source details

Open source record ↗

Source release: Fri, 09 Oct 2026 13:40:45 GMT
Source record updated: 2023-01-20

SHA-256: e4cd9c6d7120051b80e5e61d2aeb98bd6a541ddd21f428a6eab922c11242e053

MedlinePlus Source details

Open source record ↗

Source release: Sat, 10 Oct 2026 05:16:07 GMT
Source publication: 2021-07-13
Source review: 2011-12

SHA-256: fdc8bd614310c12718379cef6569962e5d0e791cecabcc355b53a72816ac263a

ClinVar Source details

Open source record ↗

Source release: Sun, 04 Oct 2026 13:15:29 GMT

SHA-256: 126d9e5bded1d43c0380ac6684c86f9aab056d2ff2be93d743e408ed917ae558

ClinGen Source details

Open source record ↗

Source release: Sat, 10 Oct 2026 09:49:14 GMT

SHA-256: 5bbc9404c72cc21d80e36ea4c49380231755850af5c34064262adceb74881af6

About the library sources · Latest validated release · Record 2e21184187c4