Stereocilin (STRC)

Stereocilin is a protein that is associated with the hair bundle of the sensory hair cells in the inner ear. The hair bundle is composed of stiff microvilli called stereocilia and is involved with mechanoreception of sound waves. This gene is part of a tandem duplication on chromosome 15; the second copy is a pseudogene. Mutations in this gene cause autosomal recessive non-syndromic deafness.

Defects in STRC are a cause of non-syndromic sensorineural deafness autosomal recessive type 16 (DFNB16) . DFNB16 is a form of sensorineural hearing loss. Sensorineural deafness results from damage to the neural receptors of the inner ear, the nerve pathways to the brain, or the area of the brain that receives sound information.