This receptor has several CC chemokine ligands including CCL2, CCL3, CCL4, CCL5, CCL11, CCL13, CCL14 and CCL16.
It is produced as a protein precursor that is processed to generate a mature active protein containing 74 amino acids that and is 46% identical in amino acid composition to CCL3 and CCL4.
The normal ligands for this receptor, RANTES, MIP-1β, and MIP-1α, are able to suppress HIV-1 infection in vitro.
In humans, there are two major forms, MIP-1α and MIP-1β that are now officially named CCL3 and CCL4, respectively.