Protein heterodimerization through ligand-bridged multivalent pre-organization: enhancing ligand binding toward both protein targets.

Structure-based design of a bifunctional ligand for two protein pentamers, cholera toxin B pentamer (CTB) and human serum amyloid P component (SAP), leads to multivalent dimerization of CTB and SAP in solution. This multivalent heterodimerization of proteins significantly enhances the affinity of the bifunctional ligand toward both target proteins.