Prof Robin Franklin

Adult Neural Stem Cells and CNS Regeneration

Laboratory Location:

Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge

Departmental Affiliation:

Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge; Cambridge Neurosciences; Main Collaborators: David Rowitch, UCSF; Charles ffrench-Constant, University of Edinburgh; Bill Richardson, UCL; Amy Wagers, Harvard Medical School; Patrizia Casaccia-Bonnefil, University of New Jersey Medical School; Ueli Suter, ETH, Zurich.

Co-workers: • Kevin Brindle • Jochen Guck • Ragnhildur Karadottir • Mark Kotter • Chao Zhao

Learn more about Prof Robin Franklin

Professional History

Robin Franklin obtained his undergraduate degrees in Physiology and Veterinary Medicine and his PhD in Neuroscience. He has spent his entire career at the University of Cambridge, where he is currently Professor of Neuroscience. He has worked predominantly on the biology of myelin repair (remyelination) and investigating strategies by which this important regenerative process may be enhanced therapeutically.

Recently, his lab has focused on the possibility of enhancing remyelination through stimulating endogenous population of adult stem cells. Over the last few years he has been at the forefront of studying the cellular and molecular mechanisms of remyelination and describing the mechanisms by which adult stem cells are recruited to areas of demyelination and the extrinsic and intrinsic factors that regulate their differentiation into remyelinating oligodendrocytes.

He is currently Director of the UK MS Society Cambridge Centre for Myelin Repair, a consortium of Cambridge-based scientists and clinicians who are collectively working towards stem cell-based therapies for myelin repair and axon protection in myelin disorders, and Director of the Neural Stem Cell Programme within the SCI.

Lab Information

The Franklin lab is interested in the mechanisms of CNS regeneration with a particular focus on remyelination, an adult stem/precursor cell-mediated process in which new myelin sheaths are restored to demyelinated axons. Using developmental-, transplantation-, chemical-, transgenic- and viral vector-based in vivo models in both mammals and fish, combined with tissue culture studies, we are examining extrinsic (environmental) and intrinsic (transcriptional) factors that govern the differentiation of adult neural stem/precursor cells into oligodendrocytes and other glia following CNS injury.

Fig. 1: Genetically labelled (green) adult brain stem/progenitor cells (OPCs) in experimental CNS injury

Fig. 2: Events involved in CNS remyelination. The process of demyelination activates resident microglia and astrocytes, which in turn activate a widespread population of adult neural stem cells called OPCs These cells, are recruited into areas of demyelination (an event involving both their proliferation and migration) where they subsequently differentiate into remyelinating oligodendrocytes. This process declines with age due to a decrease in the ability of recruited OPCs to differentiate – which mirrors the failure of remyelination in MS (from Franklin and ffrench-Constant, 2008 Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9: 839-855).

Plain English

In our lab we study how stem cells in the adult brain respond to damage or disease and are able to replace lost cells. Our particular interest is in the regeneration of oligodendrocytes, the cells that make the insulating coating (myelin) around fibres on which their function and survival depends.

Key Publications

View all publications by
Prof Robin Franklin

Fancy SPJ, Harington EP, Yuen TJ, Silbereis JC, Zhao C, Baranzini SE, Bruce CE, Otero JJ, Huang EC, Nusse R, Franklin RJM, Rowitch RH (2011) Axin2 as regulatory and therapeutic target in newborn brain injury and remyelination. Nature Neuroscience 14: 1009-1016.
Huang JK, Jarjour AA, Nait Oumesmar B, Kerninon C, Williams A, Krezel W, Kagechika H, Bauer J, Zhao C, Evercooren AB, Chambon P, Ffrench-Constant C, Franklin RJM. Retinoid X receptor gamma signaling accelerates CNS remyelination. Nature Neuroscience. 2011 Jan;14(1): 45-53. [PubMed]
Zawadzka, M., L. E. Rivers, S. P. Fancy, C. Zhao, R. Tripathi, F. Jamen, K. Young, A. Goncharevich, H. Pohl, M. Rizzi, D. H. Rowitch, N. Kessaris, U. Suter, W. D. Richardson and R. J. M. Franklin (2010), CNS-resident glial progenitor/stem cells produce Schwann cells as well as oligodendrocytes during repair of CNS demyelination. Cell Stem Cell 6(6): 578-90. [PubMed]
Fancy SP, Baranzini SE, Zhao C, Yuk DI, Irvine KA, Kaing S, Sanai N, Franklin RJ, Rowitch DH (2009), “Dysregulation of the Wnt pathway inhibits timely myelination and remyelination in the mammalian CNS.” Genes and Development 23(13):1571-85
Shen S, Sandoval J, Swiss V, Li J, Dupree J, Franklin RJM Casaccia-Bonnefil P (2008) Age-dependent epigenetic control of differentiation inhibitors: a critical deteriminant of remyelination efficiency. Nature Neuroscience 11: 1024-1034