MINIREVIEW
Phage-display as a tool for quantifying protein stability
determinants
Joanne D. Kotz
1
, Christopher J. Bond
2
and Andrea G. Cochran
1
1
Department of Protein Engineering and
2
Medicinal Chemistry, Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, CA, USA
To address questions of protein stability, researchers have
increasingly turned to combinatorial approaches that permit
the rapid analysis of libraries of protein variants. Phage-
display has proved to be a powerful tool for analyzing protein
stability due to the large library size and the robustness of the
phage particle to a variety of denaturing conditions. With the
B1 domain of protein G (GB1) and a camelid heavy chain
antibody as model systems, we are using phage-display lib-
raries to experimentally address questions that have generally
been addressed in silico, either through computational stud-
ies or statistical analysis of known protein structures. One
effort has focused on identifying novel solutions to repacking
the hydrophobic core of GB1, while maintaining stability
comparable to the wild type protein. In a second study,
a small set of substitutions in complimentarity-determining
region 3 was found to stabilize the framework of the camelid
antibody. Another major focus has been to obtain quanti-
tative data on b-sheet stability determinants. We have suc-

that should be considered in addressing specific questions
of protein structure.
Phage-display is one selection technique that has been
successfully applied to investigating protein stability [1,2]. In
adapting phage-display from the more common selection
for binding affinity, investigators have focused on mutating
residues affecting protein stability, but not directly involved
in ligand binding (Fig. 1). Proteins are selected that retain
binding capacity, with the implicit assumption that a
properly folded protein is required for an intact binding
interface [3,4].
As a protein mutagenesis strategy, phage-display offers
a number of important advantages. The technology for
generating large libraries ( 10
10
members) has been well
developed [5], permitting the simultaneous characterization
of a relatively large number of mutants. In addition, the
high in vitro stability of the phage particle [6] permits the
use of a wide range of selection conditions. For example,
investigators have used high temperature [7–9] and denat-
urants [8,9] to increase selective pressure. Varying the
stringency of selection conditions by these methods allows
greater flexibility in experimental design and is particularly
relevant to questions of protein stability.
One limitation of the above approach is the requirement
for a known binding partner with a binding interface that
is unaffected by the mutations introduced. A number of
researchers have developed strategies for circumventing this
coupling of protein stability and function, relying on the

using different proteins but a similar experimental design,
we discuss the extent to which the most stable proteins are
selected.
Additionally, our laboratory has extended phage-based
stability selections to include quantification of the relative
contributions of amino acid substitutions to protein stabil-
ity. Using the b-sheet of GB1 as a model system, we have
asked whether a number of variants, all of which are folded
under the conditions of the selection, can be recovered
differentially based on varying stabilities. Remarkably, we
have found that, at least in some circumstances, a quanti-
tative correlation to biophysical data can be obtained from
a statistical analysis of selected phage populations [16]. We
also discuss experiments addressing the physical basis of this
selection and the range of stabilities that can be differen-
tiated.
Selecting the most stable protein variants
Two studies, one of GB1 and one of a camelid antibody,
have employed phage-display to identify the most stable
clones from a large pool of unfolded proteins. In both cases
stable clones are identified from the selection and stability is
confirmed when the individual proteins are characterized.
However, it is not clear whether the globally most stable
proteins encoded in the libraries are identified. The successes
and limitations of this strategy, and ideas for increasing the
selective pressure, are discussed below.
Repacking the GB1 core
We have begun to investigate by phage-display the tolerance
to substitution in the hydrophobic core of GB1. One goal of
this study was to compare phage-based strategies to

at boundary residues and was based on the consensus
sequence from the third round of sorting, while two
represented the most dominant clones from the fifth round
of sorting. All three proteins underwent two-state thermal
Fig. 2. Mutation of the GB1 core. Core residues (red) and boundary
residues (blue) were randomized in one library. Other core residues [10]
are shown in gray. This figure and Fig. 5 were generated from the
NMR structure (PDB code 2GB1) [33] using
INSIGHT II
(Accelrys,
San Diego, CA).
Fig. 1. Phage-display as a method for selecting for protein stability.
Folded proteins are retained, based on the formation of the three-
dimensional structure necessary to form a functional binding interface.
Unfolded proteins cannot bind and therefore are not selected.
1624 J. D. Kotz et al.(Eur. J. Biochem. 271) Ó FEBS 2004
unfolding transitions. For the mutant based on the third
round consensus sequence, the melting temperature (T
m
)
was equal to that of wild type GB1 (81 °C). The T
m
was
somewhat reduced from wild type for the two dominant
fifth round clones (59 °Cand62°C; Table 1). In each case
the proteins were fully folded at room temperature and
retained IgG binding activity (J. D. Kotz & A. G. Cochran,
unpublished results).
To reduce the time required for computational analysis,
only hydrophobic residues were allowed at core positions

more, the protein A binding site is distal to the former light
chain interface and involves residues within the b-sheet
structure (Fig. 3). As in the GB1-Fc system, the protein A–
antibody interaction requires a correctly folded molecule,
and therefore binding can be used as a direct readout for
antibody stability.
To adapt to the loss of the light chain, these heavy chain
scaffolds rely on portions of complimentarity-determining
region 3 (CDR3) to maintain structural integrity. This
additional role of CDR3 complicated the design of heavy
chain libraries for antigen binding selections by requiring a
scaffold in which the structural residues of CDR3 were
fixed. To identify these structurally important residues,
potential heavy chain CDR3 scaffolds were evaluated by
sorting a 17-residue CDR3 library against protein A.
Following three rounds of sorting, 335 clones were isolated
and sequenced. When purified proteins were individually
characterized, the four most frequently observed clones had
thermostabilities of approximately 60 °C, similar to those of
other camelid heavy chain antibodies [15]. A crystal
structure of one clone revealed that the residues selected at
both ends of the CDR3 loop are ordered and interact with
the former light chain interface, supporting the idea that
these residues are structurally important (Fig. 4). Con-
versely, the remainder of the loop is disordered, consistent
with the observed tolerance to substitution at these loop
positions (C. J. Bond, J. C. Marsters & S. S. Sidhu,
unpublished results; [15]).
To what extent are the most stable sequences selected?
In both of the above studies, the dominant clones

LFRWFF3 1
LI R WL W3 1
LSTLFW3 1
LLTWFF3 1
L L R W F W R3 consensus 81
LSI K F L 5 30 59
LYP V F M5 5 62
LLTTFYWT 81
Ó FEBS 2004 Phage-display for quantifying protein stability (Eur. J. Biochem. 271) 1625
export to the surface of the phage and affinity for the
target protein. Thus, although a folded protein is a
minimum requirement, phage-display selection may not
depend solely on protein stability.
To address this limitation, the selection can be made more
dependent on protein stability by destabilizing the host. For
example, to test the range of turn sequences permitted
in stable proteins [7], DeGrado and coworkers generated
random turn sequences in GB1 host proteins of different
stabilities; these libraries were screened for IgG competent
binders at either room temperature or elevated temperature.
They observed no sequence preference for turns in the wild
type host, whereas clear sequence preferences were observed
in destabilized hosts. As the stringency of the screen
increased, the functional solutions increasingly resembled
the wild type sequence and turns that are most commonly
found in proteins. Highlighting the effectiveness of the
screen, they confirmed biochemically that IgG binders
obtained under the most stringent conditions were signifi-
cantly more stable than nonbinders [7]. In a different
approach, Plu

formation, as well as progress in understanding important
experimental variables of the method.
Analyzing stability determinants in the b-sheet of GB1
The potential for obtaining quantitative biophysical infor-
mation from phage-display was suggested by a new method
called alanine shotgun scanning, which analyzes the ener-
getic contribution of residues at a binding interface. Sidhu,
Weiss and coworkers [18–20] have treated the observed
frequency ratios of residues at a given position (i.e. wild
type/alanine ratio) as an equilibrium constant, which is then
used to calculate the relative free energies of binding for
different protein variants. Relative energies calculated from
this distribution data have been shown to correspond
directly with data obtained for individual purified mutants
[18]. Thus, shotgun scanning provides a rapid method for
using phage-display to quantify changes in affinity.
In order to apply this method to the ranking of protein
stabilities, the well-established b-sheet model system GB1
seemed an ideal initial target [13]. A library was constructed
varying two cross-strand residues, 44 and 53 (Fig. 5). These
positions were guest sites in published mutagenesis studies
from which b-sheet propensity scales have been developed
[21–24]. In both protein mutagenesis and phage studies, the
host protein included the I6A mutation, resulting in the
destabilization of the protein by  2.5 kcalÆmol
)1
relative to
wild type GB1. Following a binding selection at room
temperature, individual clones were sequenced. From the
observed residue distributions at position 53, a phage-based

at positions 6 and 15 of the GB1 b-sheet. These two side
chains form a nonhydrogen bonded pair, unlike residues 44
and 53 whose backbone amides are hydrogen bonded to one
another. Nonhydrogen bonded pairs have different C
a
and
C
b
distances than hydrogen bonded pairs and therefore may
have different residue preferences and potential for side
chain–side chain interactions. Initial results suggest that the
selected residue distributions correlate well with a conven-
tional stability scale for position 6, and we are in the process
of analyzing the relationship between the two positions
(J. D. Kotz & A. G. Cochran, unpublished results).
Importantly, these results suggest that the phage-display
method will be generally applicable to quantitative compar-
isons of protein stabilities.
Importance of host stability for selection
The investigation of turn stability from DeGrado and
coworkers (discussed above) emphasized the importance of
host stability in tuning the stringency of a selection or screen
[7]. In our effort to rank protein variants of very similar
stabilities, we will probably need to achieve a balance
between a very stable host, whose folded population would
be predicted to be insensitive to stability changes, and a very
unstable host that would not allow characterization of
destabilizing mutations. In our current studies of positions 6
and 15 of the GB1 b-sheet, we have used hosts of two
different stabilities (wild type and a mutant destabilized by

partner (stability- or affinity-based), one could divide a
phage library in half and sort one half against a binding
partner and the other half against an expression tag.
A comparison of the sequences obtained from these two
different selections should reveal any display bias. Alter-
natively, a Western blot could be used to directly probe the
display levels of selected protein variants. To distinguish
affinity-based selections from those based solely on protein
stability, the affinities of purified mutant proteins for target
can be measured by standard methods (immunoassay or
surface plasmon resonance) at the temperature of the phage
selection (or at temperatures at which the variants are fully
folded); in studies with GB1, it does not appear that
sufficient affinity differences exist among the folded
variants to explain their differential selection (J. D. Kotz
& A. G. Cochran, unpublished results) [16,24].
Analyzing the less stable GB1 variants
Another potential limitation in quantifying stability by
phage-display results from the inherently larger number of
sequences observed for the more stable clones. For example,
in the analysis of side chain interactions at positions 44 and
53 in GB1, the hydrophobic amino acids are more
stabilizing, and thus they occur much more frequently than
Fig. 5. Quantifying b-sheet stability. The hydrogen-bonded pair (red)
and the nonhydrogen-bonded pair (blue) were varied in separate
phage-display libraries. Surrounding residues from the solvent exposed
face of the b-sheet are shown in gray.
Ó FEBS 2004 Phage-display for quantifying protein stability (Eur. J. Biochem. 271) 1627
other amino acids. Therefore, even with  1200 sequences,
many of the 400 possible pairwise combinations are not

relevant to the study of protein stability, in which detailed
thermodynamic comparisons are often required. One solu-
tion is to design screens that yield a reliable, quantifiable
output parameter that reports on the stability of library
members [31]. We have chosen instead to modify our use of
phage selection technology.
The discovery that phage-display can be used quantita-
tively to report on affinity is an exciting new development
[18,20]. It appears that once nonfunctional background
phage are eliminated from a library through a few rounds
of selection, the remaining phage essentially represent an
equilibrium population of more and less functional vari-
ants, allowing the use of statistical thermodynamics to rank
free energy differences. Because DNA sequencing is now
relatively routine, it is straightforward to sample the
selected phage population sufficiently to identify residues
important for binding and to provide a reliable estimate of
how important they are. For binary mutagenesis (e.g. wild
type vs. alanine), only a few hundred sequences are needed
to characterize most interfaces [18], and an experiment of
this type can be conducted inexpensively in a couple of
weeks.
The extension of ÔshotgunÕ phage-display to selections for
folding should expand the utility of combinatorial muta-
genesis and complement existing methodology [32]. A major
advantage to the shotgun method is that it combines
strengths of traditional phage selections (e.g. amplification
and discrimination of functional variants) with those of high
throughput screens (e.g. adequate statistical sampling of
smaller libraries). However, there are complications encoun-

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