Patent 11117935 was granted and assigned to President and Fellows of Harvard College on September, 2021 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Disclosed herein are botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) polypeptides with a modified BoNT/B4 receptor binding domain (B4-HC) having amino acid mutations that modify the binding of the BoNT to the human SytII receptor. Specific mutations and combinations of mutations are disclosed. Isolated modified HCs, polypeptides comprising such modified HCs, chimeric molecules, pharmaceutical compositions, and methods of making and using the same are also disclosed. Methods of identifying additional such modified receptor binding domains, are further disclosed.