Macrophage Proinflammatory Human Chemokine-3␣ (Mip-3␣/LARC/Exodus) belongs to a large family of chemotactic cytokines, which participate in directing inflammatory cell migration and in modulating angiogenesis. Mip-3␣ signals through a recently identified G-protein linked 7-transmembrane receptor, CCR6. In this study, we have characterized the expression of Mip-3␣ and CCR6 in 12 normal and 16 cancerous human pancreatic tissues and in 4 cultured pancreatic cancer cell lines, and assessed the effects of Mip-3␣ on growth and invasion of these cell lines. Pancreatic cancer tissues markedly overexpressed Mip-3␣ in comparison with normal pancreatic samples. By in situ hybridization Mip-3␣ and CCR6 mRNA moieties were present in cancer cells within the tumors. In addition, Mip-3␣ was abundant in the macrophages infiltrating the tumor mass. Mip-3␣ and its receptor CCR6 were expressed in all 4 tested pancreatic cancer cell lines. Mip-3␣ stimulated the growth of one cell line, enhanced the migration of another cell line, and was without effect in the other 2 cell lines. Together, our findings suggest that Mip-3␣ has the potential to act via autocrine and paracrine mechanisms to contribute to the pathobiology of human pancreatic cancer.