Substrate Sequence Determines Catalytic Activities, Domain-Binding Preferences, and Allosteric Mechanisms in Pin1

Abstract

Pin1 is a unique phosphorylation-dependent peptidyl-prolyl isomerase that regulates diverse subcellular processes and an important potential therapeutic target. Functional mechanisms of Pin1 are complicated because of the two-domain structural organization: the catalytic domain both binds the specific pSer/Thr-Pro motif and catalyzes the cis/trans isomerization, whereas the WW domain can only bind the trans configuration and is speculated to be responsible for substrate-binding specificity. Numerous studies of Pin1 have led to two divergent conclusions on the functional role of the WW domain. One opinion states that the WW domain is an allosteric effector, and substrate binding to this domain modulates the binding and catalysis in the distal catalytic domain. The other opinion, however, argues that the WW domain does not have any allosteric role. Here, using molecular dynamics and binding free-energy calculations, we examine catalysis and allosteric mechanisms in Pin1 under various substrate- and WW-binding conditions. Our results reveal a strong substrate sequence dependency of catalysis, domain-binding preferences, and allosteric outputs in Pin1. Importantly, we show that the different opinions about the WW domain can be unified in one framework, in which substrate sequences determine whether a positive, negative, or neural allosteric effect will be elicited. Our work further elucidates detailed mechanisms underlying the sequence-dependent allostery of Pin1 and finds that interdomain contacts are key mediators of intraprotein allosteric communications. Our findings collectively provide new insights into the function of Pin1, which may facilitate the development of novel therapeutic drugs targeting Pin1 in the future.