IN MODERN research, cell lines derived from human and animal are used for carrying out studies and experimental tests. One key feature of these cell lines is that they can divide continuously in a given condition. One of the earliest cells of this type is HeLa Cells. HeLa cells are cells line obtained [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”2,3,5″ ihc_mb_template=”1″ ] in Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore from an African woman named Henrietta Lacks in 1951. Henrietta suffered from a cervical cancer and died of it eventually. These cells are considered special due to a number of reasons compared to other cells that had been isolated prior to it. Firstly, the cells isolated are of cancerous kind. While normal cells have 46 chromosomes, HeLa cells have 76 to 80 chromosomes and were mostly mutated. This is caused by the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) which is the common virus that causes cervical cancer.
Secondly, even among cancer cells, HeLa cells grow robustly compared to other cancer cells – which die easily even before the study could be completed on the cells. The cells can grow in large numbers in 24 hours, thereby making it suitable for a large-scaled study. It is said that Henrietta had syphilis which had weakened her immune system and caused the cancer cells to grow aggressively. Lastly HeLa cells are deemed as immortal as they are still dividing even to this day. This is due to the overactive telomerase that keeps on rebuilding telomeres in each cell division thus preventing cellular aging and cellular senescence. These properties help HeLa cells to become one of the most important cell lines for study. HeLa cells have contributed in many studies on understanding various diseases mechanisms and developing drugs for medical purpose. [/ihc-hide-content]
