Human Immortality (of a sort)

Capt'n Midnight

Human Imortality (of a sort)

HENRIETTA LACKS


"In 1951 a physician removed cells from the cervix (lower portion of the uterus) of Henrietta Lacks, a 31 year old Baltimore woman, mother of five and sent the cells to a lab to determine if they were malignant (cancerous). The cells were malignant and Henrietta Lacks died eight months later from cervical cancer.Her ancestors were slaves who worked in the tobacco fields Henrietta Lacks physician also provided George and Margaret Gey of Johns Hopkins University with a living sample of these cervical cancer cells. The Gey's and their research team had been trying for years to develop a method of keeping human cells dividing in culture outside the body. Most cells of vertebrates, including cells from human tissue, divide in culture at the very most only about 50 times and then die. To be of value in long term research, cell cultures were required in which the cells were capable of dividing for much longer periods of time. Since cancer cells were known to divide essentially unchecked, the Gey's used cells from a variety of malignant tissues in their attempt to culture cells. The sample of Henrietta Lacks' cells was code- named HeLa, for the first two letters of the patient's first and last name. The HeLa cell cultures survived and multiplied so well in culture, that they were soon being shipped to research labs around the world for study. Although Henrietta Lack is dead her cells live on in research labs around the world!

Google on HeLa Cancer
Refs:
http://www.hclc.sailorsite.net/HistoricalWebpages/Hlacks/HLacks.htm
http://www.louswebsite.com/12.html

GuanYin

Originally posted by Capt'n Midnight
Her ancestors were slaves who worked in the tobacco fields

I fail to see why this is included never mind highlighted.

Originally posted by Capt'n Midnight
Most cells of vertebrates, including cells from human tissue, divide in culture only about 50 times and then die.

I don't think so!
You'll be a very rich man if you manage to get Primary cells lines to last 50 passages.

Capt'n Midnight

Originally posted by syke
I fail to see why this is included never mind highlighted.

It's the human interest bit to for the non-scientists
Highlighted cos it came from a different site...
There is a major ethical question over the use of cells from someone who never consented to thier use. AFAIK the family never profited from it either....

I don't think so!
You'll be a very rich man if you manage to get Primary cells lines to last 50 passages.

Yip - that's why you need cell lines like HeLa, a little genetic manipulation and you can move genes from the human cells you want into these cells and then culture the hybrid. eg:[edit] similar to the techniques used[/edit] for producing monoclonal antibodies [edit] using mouse cells from two different lines[/edit]

Other cell lines - some imortal
http://www.qbiogene.com/products/transfection/jetpei/celldb.shtml

GuanYin

Originally posted by Capt'n Midnight
It's the human interest bit to for the non-scientists
Highlighted cos it came from a different site...
There is a major ethical question over the use of cells from someone who never consented to thier use. AFAIK the family never profited from it either....

Oh right..... I was wondering

Originally posted by Capt'n Midnight

Yip - that's why you need cell lines like HeLa, a little genetic manipulation and you can move genes from the human cells you want into these cells and then culture the hybrid. eg: for producing monoclonal antibodies

Other cell lines - some imortal
http://www.qbiogene.com/products/transfection/jetpei/celldb.shtml

Well your post implied primaries could last 50 passages. They can't

Also, monoclonal antibodies aren't made using imortalised human cell lines like HeLa at all. They are made from fusing mouse spleens with myeloma cells, most commonly NS-1, and these cells are totally unlike cervical epithelial carcinoma cells. I think you are way oversimplifying animal cell culture and its techniques and uses.

Capt'n Midnight

Originally posted by syke
I think you are way oversimplifying animal cell culture and its techniques and uses.

Bingo

I don't mind the sight of mice, it's the ascities that gets me. Still don't like the taste of vodka, I keep imagining it has little white hairs in it...

GuanYin

Hrmmm.. this deserves its own thread... moving.....

Syth

I think the immorality of taking the cell cultures to to what use they are put. If no-one profits from it (hopefully leading to better knowledge and improving human life in general) then there isn't a huge problem. It's not like Henrietta Lacks died or was seriously harmed in removing them. The cells were taken as part of a medical test. So what if they used them? It all depends on how they used the cells.

Amalgam

Just finished reading Rebecca Skloot's book. Fascinating mix of a human\family saga, nestled alongside the science.

http://rebeccaskloot.com/the-immortal-life/

The ethical arguments of today probably cannot be framed with the attitudes, 'back then', but little has improved, if anything, they've got worse.. I find. Skloot rounds out the book nicely with a discussion on how things stand today.

If anyone is curious, the BBC documentary: 'The way of all Flesh' ( 1997 - Adam Curtis) on Henrietta Lacks and her family, referenced in the book, is viewable on Milk and Cookies.

http://www.milkandcookies.com/link/180974/detail/

I'd strongly advise reading the book first though.

EDIT: The film is on Adam Curtis's BBC blog in crisp quality. BBC codec etc..

The way of all Flesh - 58Min 34Sec

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/adamcurtis/2010/06/the_undead_henrietta_lacks_and.html