Researchers Unveil Genome of 'Immortal' Cell Line Derived From Cancer Victim 81
vinces99 writes "Scientists have unveiled a comprehensive portrait of the genome of the world's first immortal cell line, known as HeLa, derived in 1951 from an aggressive cervical cancer that killed Henrietta Lacks, a 31-year-old African-American woman. The cells, taken without her or her family's knowledge, were pivotal in developing the polio vaccine, in vitro fertilization and cloning, and were the subject of a 2010 New York Times best-seller 'The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.' The Lacks family has never been compensated and, until this new University of Washington study, has never had a say in how the information is used. The study, published Aug. 8 in Nature, pieced together the complicated insertion of the human papillomavirus genome, which contains its own set of cancer genes, into Lacks' genome near an 'oncogene,' a naturally occurring gene that can cause cancer when altered. Scientists had never succeeded in reproducing cells in a culture until the HeLa cells, which reproduced an entire generation every 24 hours and never stopped. The cells allowed scientists to perform experiments without using a living human. The researchers discovered that the genome of the HeLa cell line, which has been replicated millions, if not billions of times, has remained relatively stable."
Re:Stable except for the cancer??? (Score:5, Insightful)
> Since its already a cancerous cell line, how can we be sure its actually useful.
It's the wrong question. After 62 years and 74,000 scientific papers, the cell line is not just useful, it's legendary. Every biology and medicine student reads about it in their text books.
> Wouldn't successful cancer treatments destroy it altogether?
It's a cell line. It's in labs (all over the world), not in a live person any more.
> Maybe instead of relying on one particularly incredible replication subject shouldn't have stopped us from trying to find more...
No one stopped from trying to find more. HeLa is not the only one. It's the first and the most popular one. Natural immortal cell lines are just very rare.
Re:Never had a choice in the matter? (Score:2, Insightful)
What would be a fair payment to the family for a sample of cells of a dead person? At that time nobody knew of any specific, unique properties of cells in that sample. Biopsies are always taken as part of the lab work. What happens to the cells later? Who cares? Is it even moral to try to stop a use of such cells if that use is so beneficial to the humankind?
Those megabucks that hundreds of companies earned were payment for the work of those companies. The HeLa cells only made it possible; but you cannot honestly charge an architect, today, 100x the price for the paper if his design, many years later, becomes known as the best building in the world. Your product - paper - did not become more valuable because a genius added something to it. HeLa cells would be useless if not another genius who recognized their value.
Was there an ethical problem? Perhaps. A permission should have been sought. But I, personally, don't care what happens to my body after I'm done using it. If it can be utilized with some benefit to others, more power to you. If not, just discard it.
Re:Never had a choice in the matter? (Score:5, Insightful)
What would be a fair payment to the family for a sample of cells of a dead person?
In 1952 there were over 3000 deaths caused by polio. Thanks to the vaccine, the disease was eliminated in the US by 1979.
I'd suggest we should, at a minimum, arrange for 100,000 people to swing by their house and say "thank you".
Why should 'they' be compensated (Score:5, Insightful)