Probing the Role of Backbone Hydrogen Bonds in Protein-Peptide Interactions by Amide-to-Ester Mutations

One of the most frequent protein–protein interaction modules in mammalian cells is the postsynaptic density 95/discs large/zonula occludens 1 (PDZ) domain, involved in scaffolding and signaling and emerging as an important drug target for several diseases. Like many other protein–protein interactions, those of the PDZ domain family involve formation of intermolecular hydrogen bonds: C-termini or internal linear motifs of proteins bind as β-strands to form an extended antiparallel β-sheet with the PDZ domain. Whereas extensive work has focused on the importance of the amino acid side chains of the protein ligand, the role of the backbone hydrogen bonds in the binding reaction is not known. Using amide-to-ester substitutions to perturb the backbone hydrogen-bonding pattern, we have systematically probed putative backbone hydrogen bonds between four different PDZ domains and peptides corresponding to natural protein ligands. Amide-to-ester mutations of the three C-terminal amides of the peptide ligand severe...