title: Receptor dimerization--rationale for the design of bivalent ligands.
abstract: Accumulating evidence has confirmed the existence and functional significance of GPCR and other types of receptor homodimers and heterodimers. However, many aspects of the biology and pharmacology of the dimerization process remain unclear. Several crystal structures of the dimerized proteins or protein-ligand complex have provided useful insights to the understanding of such process. As a common phenomenon of most receptors, homodimerization and heterodimerization have added a new dimension to characterize the receptor different from the traditional way, and open a new avenue to rational drug design and discovery.
authors.affiliation: Modern Synthetic Organic Chemistry Laboratory, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, CAS, 555 Zuchongzhi Lu, Pudong, Shanghai, China 201203. aozhang@mail.shcnc.ac.cn
authors.forename: Ao
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Zhili
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kan
mesh_terms: D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D019281:Dimerization; D008024:Ligands; D011487:Protein Conformation; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D008024:Ligands; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled