By Christine Riney AWC Hamburg, AWC London and FAWCO Health Co-Chair
A young black woman, the mother of five and wife of a tobacco farmer visited Johns Hopkins Hospital complaining of vaginal bleeding. It was 1951, and when a tumor was found and a biopsy taken she had no way of knowing that history would be changed forever.
The young woman’s name was Henrietta Lacks, and her story has become part of our story – indeed, the world’s story. The biopsy of the cancer cells was sent to a cancer and virus researcher who had been collecting cancer cells from all women who came to Johns Hopkins Hospital. This was without their consent or knowledge, as was the practice at the time. Thus, what Henrietta Lacks never knew was that her cancer cells were unique. Unlike all the other cells tested before, which died after a few hours, Henrietta’s cells doubled every day, indefinitely. This extraordinary development allowed huge magnitudes of research to be undertaken – around the world and still today. Henrietta’s cells are known today as the HeLa cell line and have since been joined by other immortal cell lines.
The HeLa cell line:
- Crucial in developing the polio vaccine
- Aid in the understanding of the impact of X-Rays on human cell growth
- Used in development of a test to know whether a cell line is cancerous or not, still in use today
- In 1964, HeLa cells were the first in space before manned missions
- Used in testing treatments for blood disorders
- Used in research into Salmonella and the impact on the human body
- Scientists use HeLa cells to discover how the presence of the human papilloma virus (HPV) can lead to certain types of cervical cancer
- Discovery that when HeLa cells are treated with a drug called Campothecin, cancer cell growth slows
- Aided advances in understanding HIV infection
- Helped in understanding how human cells age
- Helped in exploring how tuberculosis makes people sick
- Using HeLa cells to see the mechanism by which viruses enter cells and provide the clearest view of the inner workings of a living cell
- Helped scientists uncover that HIV and Ebola share a similar process to enter cells and cause disease
- Human Genome Mapping
- Used in the research for a number of Nobel Prize winners
- And most recently, have been used in the race for a COVID-19 vaccine
Sadly, Henrietta Lacks passed away on October 4th, 1951, at the age of 31, without ever knowing that she had provided science with these extensive opportunities. HeLa cells continue to grow and flourish around the globe, saving countless lives every year. Providing our world with scientific discovery and development that will heal us for decades to come.
Resources:
Book and Movie - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/henriettalacks/
https://www.immunology.org/hela-cells-1951
https://embryo.asu.edu/pages/henrietta-lacks-1920-1951
https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/cervical/basic_info/index.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPLSp7Tf3bw&feature=emb_logo
Photos: The Web site of the National Cancer Institute (https://www.cancer.gov)