The small office where Stanford Pathologist Marius Wernig works doesn’t look unusual. A clean desk with a laptop, an open window overlooking a field, and a few neatly arranged books and papers. The room’s apparent normalcy, however, is a stark contrast to the astonishing new discovery that happened here.
This is where Wernig successfully converted skin cells from mice into nerve cells, a breakthrough that could represent a major step forward in neurological regenerative medicine.
Wernig, along with his team of researchers at the Stanford Institute of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, harvested the skin cells and transformed them into brain cells.
Once the manufactured brain cells – called IN cells – were introduced to original brain cells, the two integrated seamlessly, Wernig said. When the IN cells were placed in a dish with regular brain cells, the IN cells acted like regular neurons and made connections with other neurons.
“What we saw is that these additional skin-derived neuron cells can integrate into the preexisting neuronal network so they can extend processes and contact the preexisting neurons there and talk to them,” he said.
Wernig, who is an assistant professor of pathology at the institute, said that next step is to transplant the IN cells into the brain of a mouse.
“They [IN cells] have synaptic connections with them and receive synaptic connections, so they fully integrate into this neural network,” he said. “The next step is to actually put them into a mouse’s brain, and we can label these cells with a marker which allows us to detect them again. Then we can record them and analyze the cells and see whether they form connections with the host cells.”
If the IN cells can be successfully transplanted into a mouse’s brain, Wernig’s discovery could eventually lead to brain therapies for human beings.
“That would be proof that these IN cells can integrate successfully into a brain, and there are potential therapies,” he said. “That is really the key. There is no use in adding some neurons when you want to replace some lost neurons if they don’t integrate.”
Wernig made this discovery without using pluripotent embryonic stem cells, which were previously thought to be crucial for a cell to adopt a new function. The discovery suggests that using pluripotent cells for research, including the controversial embryonic stem cells, might no longer be necessary.
“I don’t think there should be any controversial discussion left any more because we knew already that we can make stem cells from skin cells, so that should have really eliminated all the ethical issues,” he said. “What we are doing now is even bypassing this stem cell step and turning a skin cell straight into a neuron. So from the ethical point of view there is no problem.”
In addition to his scientific work, Wernig is also a talented musician who grew up listening to Austrian folk music and began composing his own music at a young age. His music premiered at venues around central Europe, including a chamber opera at the Opera House of Cologne. Wernig, who is Austrian but grew up in Germany, also won second place in Germany’s national composition competition.
“I love music a lot,” he said. “I used to be very active playing instruments and composing music, but it takes a lot of time, of course, and commitment and to keep up with the skills – not so trivial. “With my job now, there is not much time to maintain a high standard. I still try to keep running on a low flame, because it is just a lot of fun.”
Dr. Wernig said that he uses his passion for music as a way to temporarily take his mind off of his research.
“I think it’s great to have something outside your main profession,” he said. “The brain doesn’t stop working for our projects here, but it’s good to have something else. The higher you go up in the career path, the narrower you will have to become. As a high school student, you should explore as much as possible. Our society develops people that are very specialized.”
At the University of Vienna, Wernig said, he had to choose between science and music. After he chose science, he had to decide what kind of science path he wanted to pursue.
“I wasn’t sure whether I should go to biomedical research or more to physics and mathematics,” he said. “After one year I made a decision to continue with medical school. I sort of realized that my heart was beating for biology and how nature works rather than solving complicated mathematical problems. I realized more and more that my heart is really with the medical science, which also has the potential to do something for people.”
Wernig said that students who are interested in science should explore the practical reality of a career in the field.
“Try to get involved with scientists and see how life looks,” he said. “It is a very frustrating job. You only see the stars and things that work, but there are many, many, many failures in this business too. That is important to know, I think, because not many people can have that level of frustration tolerance. The bottom line advice I have would be to try to get to know how all these potential jobs that are at the end of an education tracks, how they really look like in real life.”
He recommended that high school students listen to their intuitions when making important decisions about colleges, majors, and jobs.
“In the end though you should listen to yourself,” Wernig said. “I have tried to rationalize things, make a chart, give values and try to approach problems that way, but in the end I think you know what you really want, you just have to try to listen to your inside. If you do that, no matter what you decide it’s the right decision.”