Aromatic Residues in Proteins: Re-Evaluating the Geometry and Energetics of π-π, Cation-π, and CH-π Interactions

Aromatic residues can participate in various biomolecular interactions, such as π-π, cation-π, and CH-π interactions, which are essential for protein structure and function. Here, we re-evaluate the geometry and energetics of these interactions using quantum mechanical (QM) calculations, focusing on pairwise interactions involving the aromatic amino acids Phe, Tyr, and Trp and the cationic amino acids Arg and Lys. Our findings reveal that π-π interactions, while energetically favorable, are less abundant in structured proteins than commonly assumed and are often overshadowed by previously underappreciated, yet prevalent, CH-π interactions. Cation-π interactions, particularly those involving Arg, show strong binding energies and a specific geometric preference toward stacked conformations, despite the global QM minimum, suggesting that a rather perpendicular T-shape conformation should be more favorable. Our results support a more nuanced understanding of protein stabilization via interactions involving aromatic residues. On the one hand, our results challenge the traditional emphasis on π-π interactions in structured proteins by showing that CH-π and cation-π interactions contribute significantly to their structure. On the other hand, π-π interactions appear to be key stabilizers in solvated regions and thus may be particularly important to the stabilization of intrinsically disordered proteins.