Lecture Notes on Henrietta Lacks and HeLa Cells

Introduction

• Speaker expresses pleasure to speak and thanks the audience for attending.
• Mentions admiration for Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory's unique relationship with the community.
• Emphasizes the lecture's aim to strengthen this relationship and advance scientific knowledge and disease cures.
• Focus of the lecture: Rebecca Skloot’s book on Henrietta Lacks and its significance.

Popularity of Rebecca Skloot’s Book

• Book released in February 2010; still on the NY Times bestseller list after almost three years.
• Four key reasons for its popularity among diverse readers:
  1. Race
  2. Ethics
  3. Science
  4. Doing the right thing

Key Characters: Henrietta Lacks and HeLa Cells

• Henrietta Lacks: African-American woman whose cancer cells led to HeLa cell line.
• HeLa cells: Derived from her cervical cancer tumor.
• Explanation of cell biology: Nucleus, DNA, RNA, proteins, and cell functions.
• HeLa cells differ from normal human cells (82 chromosomes in HeLa cells vs. 46 in normal cells).

History of Cell Culture and HeLa Cells

• Human cells first grown outside the body in 1907 but died after ~50 divisions.
• Importance of sustainable cell cultures for understanding diseases.
• HeLa cells: Growing in culture for over 60 years, overcoming previous limitations.

Scientific Landscape in 1951

• Cells couldn't be grown in culture for long periods
• Key scientific discoveries yet to be made:
  • Double helix of DNA (1953)
  • Oncogenes, human gene sequencing, cloning, and oncogenes discovery (1950s-1980s).
  • Gasoline was 19 cents a gallon.

Henrietta Lacks and the HeLa Cells

• Henrietta Lacks: 30-year-old African-American woman treated at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1951.
• Diagnosed with large cervical cancer in February 1951, died in October.
• George Guy: Cancer researcher at Johns Hopkins, who cultured cells from tumors.
• Successful growth of fast-growing, resilient HeLa cells in culture.
• Cells shared globally by scientists for further research.

Visualization and Division of HeLa Cells

• Characteristics and behavior of HeLa cells visualized using stained micrographs.
• Cell division process illustrated through a time-lapse movie.
• Cells often divide aberrantly, leading to inconsistent chromosome numbers and cancerous behavior.

Major Scientific Advances Using HeLa Cells

• Contributions to significant scientific discoveries:
  • Polio vaccine development.
  • Understanding cancer mechanisms.
  • Studying effects of radiation and space on human cells.
  • Mapping human genes.
  • Proving HPV causes cancer, studying tuberculosis, and HIV infection.
  • Discovering telomerase role in cancer and chromosome aging.

Local and Ethical Issues

• Unethical experiments by Dr. Chester Southam with HeLa cells led to NIH regulations.
• Establishment of medical review boards and informed consent practices.

HeLa Cells and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

• Key advances made at Cold Spring Harbor Lab using HeLa cells:
  • Isolation of important enzymes and proteins.
  • Understanding the cell cycle and transcription processes.
  • Discovery of RNA editing protein linked to cancer.

Informed Consent, Ethical Guidelines, and Patients' Rights

• Evolution of ethical guidelines (Nuremberg Code, Declaration of Helsinki, Common Rule).
• Requirement for institutional review boards and informed consent in human subject research.
• Issues of sample ownership and notable court cases (e.g., Moore vs. Regents of UC).

Reconciliation and Recognition of Henrietta Lacks

• Establishing initiatives honoring Henrietta Lacks and supporting her family:
  • Annual lectures and awards at Johns Hopkins University.
  • Educational displays and scholarships.
• Stress on positive outcomes and ongoing contributions of HeLa cells to science despite past ethical issues.