Have you ever wondered if the injection you are getting is reliable enough? Have you ever wondered if it is actually effective? Have you ever wondered how the injection is actually tested? Have you ever wondered how the scientists are researching on COVID-19? The answer to these questions connects to a single immortal cancer cell. You might be confused by now-”Cancer cell? Aren’t they supposed to be harmful to us? ” The obvious answer to this question is ”Yes”, but as mentioned previously, it is immortal. The cell continues to divide.
How can this happen? Well, there’s a little biology lesson going on underneath the microscope. Normal functioning cells usually contain 46 chromosomes. However, HeLa cells contain 70–90chromosomes, which is an indication that something’s clearly going wrong with their genome sequence. DNA is like a guideline for protein synthesis. Therefore, the DNA sequence contains information on amino acid sequence, protein structure, and gene expression and cell function. However, when the cell contains a mutated chromosome, we call this “mutation."
Mutation can lead to hyperactive response to the signal, which leads to the cell losing control of cell division. This results in a tumor, which can be cancerous. Luckily, for normally-functioning individuals, their body contains p53 genes which inhibits cell division. p53 genes are also called “tumor-suppressor genes.” They are simply our guardian angels against cancer.
Unfortunately, the HPV virus (human papillomavirus) that is the cause of most cancers is smarter than this. While invading the cell, HPV virus produces receptors that can bind to p53 and stop the gene from inhibiting them. Henrietta Lacks, the host of HeLa cancer cells also suffered from severe cervical cancer caused by HPV virus.
After the death of Henrietta Lacks, Dr. George Otto Gey used her tumor for in vitro study. In vitro is a Latin word for within the glass, which in simple words are studies performed with biological molecules in an artificial environment. The cancerous samples collected from Henrietta Lack’s body was the best cell to be used for development of therapies and medications designed to combat cancer.
The distribution of these cells actually had a significant impact on the field of science. Tons of cells were grown in laboratories and used for research purposes. HeLa cells played key roles in development of IPV and HPV vaccines, manufacture of medication for herpes, influenza and many other diseases, and study of cancer and chemotherapy. Moreover, the HeLa cell was the first human cell to be sent to space. Currently, HeLa cells are also playing a significant role in COVID research. Using those cells, scientists gained information on the infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 in humans, found key aspects of the viral spread of this virus and even discovered the mechanism of the virus at the molecular level and the element needed for infection.
Truly, the finding of HeLa cells changed humanity and their lives. However, there is a dark side to this story. In the 1950s, the importance of informed consent was not significant in scientific research and there were also no legal restrictions on the topic, which is far from today’s standards. By not informing Henrietta’s family about using cells in her tumor for research purposes and asking for their approval, the IRB’s crucial section of ethical guidelines in research of informed consent was broken and the Lacks family was disrespected. Also, by naming the cell “HeLa” which signifies Henrietta Lacks and revealing the document containing full DNA sequence of the cell, her privacy was clearly invaded. Furthermore, even though Henrietta’s cancer cell was involved in more than 76,000 scientic researches, her families received no financial recompense. While her mother’s cell was used to save so many lives, the daughter couldn’t even get health insurance.
From this clear violation of research ethics, and researchers’ failed responsibilities, lots of lessons were learned, thus leading to changes in field and legal regulations. Now, the Institutional Review Boards (IRB) follow strict ethical guidelines (Informed consent / Deception / Confidentiality / Anonymity / Debriefing) to review and approve/disapprove research involving human subjects. Researchers always need to be responsible for their research and their subjects in order to yield a result that can be proudly presented to the public.
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