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A ligand is a molecule that specifically binds to another molecule, often a larger one. Ligand binding usually causes a receptor protein to undergo a change of shape, which often activates the receptor. After activation, the receptor can then interact with other cellular molecules. <ref>Campbell, Neil A., and Jane B. Reece. Biology. San Francisco: Benjamin Cummings, 2002. Print.</ref>

A '''ligand''' is a [[molecule]] that specifically binds to another molecule, often a larger one. Ligand binding usually causes a receptor [[protein]] to undergo a change of shape, which often activates the receptor. After activation, the receptor can then interact with other cellular molecules. <ref>Campbell, Neil A., and Jane B. Reece. Biology. San Francisco: Benjamin Cummings, 2002. Print.</ref> Ligands do not only bind to proteins, however, and can be larger than the molecules that they bind to.

==References==

==References==

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