COVER STORY: Understanding the regulatory networks for germ cell fate specification is necessary to developing strategies for improving the efficiency of germ cell production in vitro. Shi et al. developed a coupled screening strategy that took advantage of an arrayed BiFC platform for protein-protein interaction screens and EpiLC-induction assays using reporter mESCs. Investigation of candidate interaction partners of core human pluripotent factors OCT4, NANOG, KLF4 and SOX2 in EpiLC differentiation assays identified novel primordial germ cell (PGC)-inducing factors including BEN-domain (BEND/ Bend) family members. Through RNA-seq, ChIP-seq, and ATAC-seq analyses, the authors showed that Bend5 worked together with Bend4 and helped mark chromatin boundaries to promote EpiLC induction in vitro. These suggest that BEND/Bend proteins represent a new family of transcriptional modulators and chromatin boundary factors that participate in gene expression regulation during early germline development.

　　Recollection     

　　Darwinian rebel: The legacy of Loh-Seng Tsai—Chinese animal psychologist

　　Yong Wang, Wei Chen, Shiying Li, Bin Yin

　　Review          

　　New pathogenic insights from large animal models of neurodegenerative diseases

　　Peng Yin, Shihua Li, Xiao-Jiang Li, Weili Yang

　　Research Articles 

　　Bend family proteins mark chromatin boundaries and synergistically promote early germ cell differentiation

　　Guang Shi, Yaofu Bai, Xiya Zhang, Junfeng Su, Junjie Pang, Quanyuan He, Pengguihang Zeng, Junjun Ding, Yuanyan Xiong, Jingran Zhang, Jingwen Wang, Dan Liu, Wenbin Ma, Junjiu Huang, Zhou Songyang

　　Unveiling E2F4, TEAD1 and AP-1 as regulatory transcription factors of the replicative senescence program by multi-omics analysis

　　Yuting Wang, Liping Liu, Yifan Song, Xiaojie Yu, Hongkui Deng

　　8 Å structure of the outer rings of the Xenopus laevis nuclear pore complex obtained by cryo-EM and AI

　　Linhua Tai, Yun Zhu, He Ren, Xiaojun Huang, Chuanmao Zhang, Fei Sun

　　Contat us: protein_cell@biols.ac.cn

《前沿》系列英文学术期刊

　　由教育部主管、高等教育出版社主办的《前沿》（Frontiers）系列英文学术期刊，于2006年正式创刊，以网络版和印刷版向全球发行。系列期刊包括基础科学、生命科学、工程技术和人文社会科学四个主题，是我国覆盖学科最广泛的英文学术期刊群，其中13种被SCI收录，其他也被A&HCI、Ei、MEDLINE或相应学科国际权威检索系统收录，具有一定的国际学术影响力。系列期刊采用在线优先出版方式，保证文章以最快速度发表。