- McCallum, Matthew;
- Czudnochowski, Nadine;
- Rosen, Laura E;
- Zepeda, Samantha K;
- Bowen, John E;
- Walls, Alexandra C;
- Hauser, Kevin;
- Joshi, Anshu;
- Stewart, Cameron;
- Dillen, Josh R;
- Powell, Abigail E;
- Croll, Tristan I;
- Nix, Jay;
- Virgin, Herbert W;
- Corti, Davide;
- Snell, Gyorgy;
- Veesler, David
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron variant of concern evades antibody-mediated immunity that comes from vaccination or infection with earlier variants due to accumulation of numerous spike mutations. To understand the Omicron antigenic shift, we determined cryo-electron microscopy and x-ray crystal structures of the spike protein and the receptor-binding domain bound to the broadly neutralizing sarbecovirus monoclonal antibody (mAb) S309 (the parent mAb of sotrovimab) and to the human ACE2 receptor. We provide a blueprint for understanding the marked reduction of binding of other therapeutic mAbs that leads to dampened neutralizing activity. Remodeling of interactions between the Omicron receptor-binding domain and human ACE2 likely explains the enhanced affinity for the host receptor relative to the ancestral virus.