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). 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.