The relevance of these observations to human disease is validated by the observations that CD45+ cells expressing collagen, CCR5, and CCR5 ligands are also present at high levels in the dermis of SSc patients, that SSc monocytes overexpress CCR5, and that the hypermigration of SSc monocytes toward CCR5 ligands is blocked by CSD treatment. The gene discussed is CCR5; the disease is systemic sclerosis.