Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - September/October 2010 - (Page 28)

&BioEtHicS by Karen Nie iMMoRtAL C E L L S so fast that they reproduced an entire generation every 24 hours. Unfortunately, they were just as fast in taking over the patient’s body. Though she received state-of-the-art treatment for the time, Henrietta Lacks died eight months later. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Lacks or her family, Dr. Gey experimented on her cells and shared them with colleagues in New York, Chile, Russia, and elsewhere. The cells were dubbed “HeLa” cells, short for “Henrietta Lacks.” Lacks’ husband knew the doctors had taken a tissue sample to study cancer, but the family never knew about Henrietta’s presence in laboratories around the world or about her contribution to the polio vaccine and research. Twenty-four years later, they found out by chance, when, at a dinner party, Lacks’ daughter-in-law met a researcher who was using the cells in his lab and recognized her name. I n the first half of the 20th century, polio outbreaks reached pandemic levels in Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand. In 1952, the United States had its worst outbreak, with nearly 60,000 reported polio infections that left more than 3,000 people dead and over 20,000 people crippled. Just three years later, in 1955, Dr. Jonas Salk produced the first safe, eﬀective polio vaccine. While people rejoiced, many did not know that the vaccine could not have been created without a line of human cancer cells known as “HeLa” cells. To develop and test the vaccine, adequate quantities of the polio virus itself needed to be produced, and few cell lines could manage such a task until HeLa cells came along. These robust, versatile cells were an answer to many researchers’ prayers. But where did they come from? In 1951, 31-year-old Henrietta Lacks, a poor African American mother of five, was diagnosed with and treated for cervical cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital. When her tumor was excised, her surgeon sent samples from it to Dr. George Gey, head of tissue culture research at Hopkins. Dr. Gey and his wife, Margaret, in their quest to find a cure for cancer, had been searching for human cells that could be coaxed to live indefinitely outside the body, in tissue culture—an “immortal” cell line. With this sample of cervical cancer cells, their search ended: the cancer cells took over their test tubes, multiplying HeLa cells were the first “immortal” cell line and have been instrumental in research on cancer, viral growth, protein synthesis, genetic control mechanisms, and the effects of drugs and radiation on cells. Bioethical Issues Lacks’ story touches on many bioethical issues, including questions of: Informed consent: Policies on informed consent have come a long way since the 1950s, but some issues are still unresolved, such as whether the donor of the sample needs to give consent for every new use of their sample—or even how to obtain truly informed consent when there’s no way to know exactly where the research will lead. 28 imagine SHUttERStock Sept/Oct 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - September/October 2010

Imagine Magazine - John Hopkins - September/October 2010
Contents
Big Questions
Big Picture
In My Own Words
Biotechnology is
A Survival Guide for the Biotech Revolution
The Indiana Jones of Biotech
Stemming the Monster
Transgenic Animals
Building a Better Hydrogel
Immortal Cells & Bioethics
Selected Opportunities & Resources
Nights at the Museum
One Step Ahead
Middle Ground
Off the Shelf
Word Wise
Exploring Career Options
Planning Ahead for College
Students Review
Creative Minds Imagine
Mark Your Calendar
Knossos Games

Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - September/October 2010