C-C chemokine receptor type 6

Chemokine receptor 6 also known as CCR6 is a CC chemokine receptor protein which in humans is encoded by the CCR6 gene. CCR6 has also recently been designated CD196 (cluster of differentiation 196).

Function

This protein belongs to family A of G protein-coupled receptor superfamily. The gene is preferentially expressed by immature dendritic cells and memory T cells. The ligand of this receptor is macrophage inflammatory protein 3 alpha (MIP-3 alpha). This receptor has been shown to be important for B-lineage maturation and antigen-driven B-cell differentiation, and it may regulate the migration and recruitment of dendritic and T cells during inflammatory and immunological responses. Alternatively spliced transcript variants that encode the same protein have been described for this gene.

Molecular biology

The gene is located on the long arm of Chromosome 6 (6q27) on the Watson (plus) strand. It is 139,737 bases long and encodes a protein of 374 amino acids (molecular weight 42,494 Da).

Clinical significance

CCR6 has been associated with Crohn's disease. Expression of CCR6 was found to be up-regulated in colorectal cancer. Novel research has identified a microRNA that is able to downregulate CCR6 in cancer cell lines.

Further reading

This article incorporates text from the United States National Library of Medicine, which is in the public domain.