Design of single-layer β-sheets without a hydrophobic core

The hydrophobic effect is the main thermodynamic driving force in the folding of water-soluble proteins1,2. Exclusion of nonpolar moieties from aqueous solvent results in the formation of a hydrophobic core in a protein, which has been generally considered essential for specifying and stabilizing the folded structures of proteins1,2,3,4,5,6. Outer surface protein A (OspA) from Borrelia burgdorferi contains a three-stranded β-sheet segment which connects two globular domains7. Although this single-layer β-sheet segment is exposed to solvent on both faces and thus does not contain a hydrophobic core, the segment has a high conformational stability8. Here we report the engineering of OspA variants that contain larger single-layer β-sheets (comprising five and seven β-strands) by duplicating a β-hairpin unit within the β-sheet. Nuclear magnetic resonance and small-angle X-ray scattering analyses reveal that these extended single-layer β-sheets are formed as designed, and amide hydrogen–deuterium exchange and chemical denaturation show that they are stable. Thus, interactions within the β-hairpin unit and those between adjacent units, which do not involve the formation of a hydrophobic core, are sufficient to specify and stabilize the single-layer β-sheet structure. Our results provide an expanded view of protein folding, misfolding and design.