We report a simple, versatile, multivalent ligand system that is capable of specifically and efficiently modulating cell-surface receptor clustering and function. The multivalent ligand is made of a polymeric DNA scaffold decorated with biorecognition ligands (i.e., antibodies) to interrogate and modulate cell receptor signaling and function. Using CD20 clustering-mediated apoptosis in B-cell cancer cells as a model system, we demonstrated that our multivalent ligand is significantly more effective at inducing apoptosis of target cancer cells than its monovalent counterpart. This multivalent DNA material approach represents a new chemical biology tool to interrogate cell receptor signaling and functions and to potentially manipulate such functions for the development of therapeutics.

This document is the final report of the ATLAS-CMS Dark Matter Forum, a forum organized by the ATLAS and CMS collaborations with the participation of experts on theories of Dark Matter, to select a minimal basis set of dark matter simplified models that should support the design of the early LHC Run-2 searches. A prioritized, compact set of benchmark models is proposed, accompanied by studies of the parameter space of these models and a repository of generator implementations. This report also addresses how to apply the Effective Field Theory formalism for collider searches and present the results of such interpretations.