A cross‐strand Trp–Trp pair stabilizes the hPin1 WW domain at the expense of function

Using the human Pin1 WW domain (hPin1 WW), we show that replacement of two nearest neighbor non‐hydrogen‐bonded residues on adjacent β‐strands with tryptophan (Trp) residues increases β‐sheet thermodynamic stability by 4.8 kJ mol −1 at physiological temperature. One‐dimensional NMR studies confirmed that introduction of the Trp–Trp pair does not globally perturb the structure of the triple‐stranded β‐sheet, while circular dichroism studies suggest that the engineered cross‐strand Trp–Trp pair adopts a side‐chain conformation similar to that first reported for a designed “Trp‐zipper” β‐hairpin peptide, wherein the indole side chains stack perpendicular to each other. Even though the mutated side chains in wild‐type hPin1 WW are not conserved among WW domains and compose the β‐sheet surface opposite to that responsible for ligand binding, introduction of the cross‐strand Trp–Trp pair effectively eliminates hPin1 WW function as assessed by the loss of binding affinity toward a natural peptide ligand. Maximizing both thermodynamic stability and the domain function of hPin1 WW by the above mentioned approach appears to be difficult, analogous to the situation with loop 1 optimization explored previously. That introduction of a non‐hydrogen‐bonded cross‐strand Trp–Trp pair within the hPin1 WW domain eliminates function may provide a rationale for why this energetically favorable pairwise interaction has not yet been identified in WW domains or any other biologically evolved protein with known three‐dimensional structure.