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61-451: Hep G2 (or HepG2 ) is a human liver cancer cell line . Hep G2 is an immortal cell line which was derived in 1975 from the liver tissue of a 15-year-old Caucasian male from Argentina with a well-differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma. These cells are epithelial in morphology, have a modal chromosome number of 55, and are not tumorigenic in nude mice . The cells secrete a variety of major plasma proteins, e.g., albumin , and
122-447: A film project based on Skloot's book, and in 2016 filming commenced. with Winfrey in the leading role of Deborah Lacks, Henrietta's daughter. The film The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks was released in 2017, with Renée Elise Goldsberry portraying Lacks. Sons David Lacks Jr. and Zakariyya Rahman and granddaughter Jeri Lacks were consultants for the film. HBO also commissioned Kadir Nelson for an oil painting of Lacks. In 2018,
183-683: A statue of Lacks at Royal Fort House in the city. The sculpture was created by Helen Wilson-Roe and was the first statue of a black woman made by a black woman for a public space in the United Kingdom. On October 13, 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) presented the Director General Award to Lawrence Lacks, the son of Henrietta Lacks, in recognition of her unknowing contribution to science and medicine. Soumya Swaminathan , chief scientist at
244-404: A "knot" in her womb. She had previously told her cousins about the "knot" and they assumed correctly that she was pregnant. But after giving birth to Joseph, Lacks had a severe hemorrhage . Her primary care doctor, William C. Wade, referred her back to Johns Hopkins. There, her doctor, Howard W. Jones , took a biopsy of a mass found on Lacks's cervix for laboratory testing. Soon after, Lacks
305-604: A belated obituary for her, as part of the Overlooked history project. Also in 2018, the National Portrait Gallery and the National Museum of African-American History and Culture jointly announced the accession of a portrait of Lacks by Kadir Nelson . On October 6, 2018, Johns Hopkins University announced plans to name a research building in honor of Lacks. The announcement was made at
366-494: A cell line from Lacks's sample by isolating one specific cell and repeatedly dividing it, meaning that the same cell could then be used for conducting many experiments. They became known as HeLa cells, because Gey's standard method for labeling samples was to use the first two letters of the patient's first and last names. The ability to rapidly reproduce HeLa cells in a laboratory setting has led to many important breakthroughs in biomedical research. For example, by 1954, Jonas Salk
427-595: A congressional resolution recognizing Lacks and her contributions to medical science and research. In 2010, the Johns Hopkins Institute for Clinical and Translational Research established the annual Henrietta Lacks Memorial Lecture Series, to honor Henrietta Lacks and the global impact of HeLa cells on medicine and research. In 2011, Morgan State University in Baltimore granted Lacks a posthumous honorary doctorate in public service. Also in 2011,
488-407: A cost-effective way of growing cells similar to those found in a multicellular organism in vitro . The cells are used for a wide variety of purposes, from testing toxicity of compounds or drugs to production of eukaryotic proteins. While immortalised cell lines often originate from a well-known tissue type, they have undergone significant mutations to become immortal. This can alter the biology of
549-523: A follow-up. During her treatments, two samples were taken from Lacks's cervix without her permission or knowledge; one sample was of healthy tissue and the other was cancerous. These samples were given to George Otto Gey , a physician and cancer researcher at Johns Hopkins. The cells from the cancerous sample eventually became known as the HeLa immortal cell line , a commonly used cell line in contemporary biomedical research . On August 8, 1951, Lacks, who
610-502: A headstone for Elsie Lacks as well, which was dedicated on the same day. The book-shaped headstone of Henrietta Lacks contains an epitaph written by her grandchildren that reads: Henrietta Lacks, August 1, 1920 – October 4, 1951 In loving memory of a phenomenal woman, wife and mother who touched the lives of many. Here lies Henrietta Lacks (HeLa). Her immortal cells will continue to help mankind forever. Eternal Love and Admiration, From Your Family George Otto Gey,
671-441: A large portion of other cell cultures became contaminated by HeLa cells. As a result, members of Henrietta Lacks's family received solicitations for blood samples from researchers hoping to learn about the family's genetics in order to differentiate between HeLa cells and other cell lines. Alarmed and confused, several family members began questioning why they were receiving so many telephone calls requesting blood samples. In 1975,
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#1732783812474732-417: A model system for studies of liver metabolism and toxicity of xenobiotics , the detection of environmental and dietary cytotoxic and genotoxic (and thus cytoprotective, anti-genotoxic, and cogenotoxic) agents, understanding hepatocarcinogenesis , and for drug targeting studies . Hep G2 cells are also employed in trials with bio-artificial liver devices . Cell line An immortalised cell line
793-482: A portrait by Kadir Nelson and a poem by Saul Williams . HeLa , a play by Chicago playwright J. Nicole Brooks , was commissioned by Sideshow Theatre Company in 2016, with a public staged reading on July 31, 2017. The play was produced by Sideshow at Chicago's Greenhouse Theater Center from November 18 to December 23, 2018. The play uses Lacks's life story as a jumping point for a larger conversation about Afrofuturism, scientific progress, and bodily autonomy. In
854-467: A room with her nine-year-old first cousin and future husband, David "Day" Lacks (1915–2002). Like most members of her family living in Clover, Lacks worked as a tobacco farmer starting from an early age. She fed the animals, tended the garden, and toiled in the tobacco fields. She attended the designated black school two miles away from the cabin until she had to drop out to help support the family when she
915-520: A short digital memoir called "Hela Family Stories: Lawrence and Bobbette", with first-hand accounts of their memories of Henrietta Lacks while she was alive and of their own efforts to keep the youngest children out of unsafe living environments following their mother's death. The HeLa Project, a multimedia exhibition to honor Lacks, opened in 2017 in Baltimore at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture . It included
976-532: A suitable model to study the intracellular trafficking and dynamics of bile canalicular, sinusoidal membrane proteins, and lipids in human hepatocytes in vitro . This can be important for the study of human liver diseases that are caused by an incorrect subcellular distribution of cell surface proteins, e.g., hepatocanalicular transport defects such as Dubin-Johnson Syndrome and progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis (PFIC), and familial hypercholesterolemia. Hep G2 cells and their derivatives are also used as
1037-467: A tumor biopsied during treatment for cervical cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore , Maryland, in 1951. These cells were then cultured by George Otto Gey , who created the cell line known as HeLa, which is still used for medical research. As was then the practice, no consent was required to culture the cells obtained from Lacks's treatment. Neither she nor her family were compensated for
1098-489: A very important tool for research into the biochemistry and cell biology of multicellular organisms. Immortalised cell lines have also found uses in biotechnology . An immortalised cell line should not be confused with stem cells , which can also divide indefinitely, but form a normal part of the development of a multicellular organism. There are various immortal cell lines. Some of them are normal cell lines (e.g. derived from stem cells). Other immortalised cell lines are
1159-421: Is a population of cells from a multicellular organism that would normally not proliferate indefinitely but, due to mutation , have evaded normal cellular senescence and instead can keep undergoing division. The cells can therefore be grown for prolonged periods in vitro . The mutations required for immortality can occur naturally or be intentionally induced for experimental purposes. Immortal cell lines are
1220-616: Is its immortality; the cells can be grown indefinitely in culture. This simplifies analysis of the biology of cells that may otherwise have a limited lifetime. Immortalised cell lines can also be cloned, giving rise to a clonal population that can, in turn, be propagated indefinitely. This allows an analysis to be repeated many times on genetically identical cells, which is desirable for repeatable scientific experiments. The alternative, performing an analysis on primary cells from multiple tissue donors, does not have this advantage. Immortalised cell lines find use in biotechnology, where they are
1281-485: Is possible that Elsie was subjected to the pneumoencephalography procedure, where a hole was drilled into a patient's head to drain fluid from the brain, which was then replaced with oxygen or helium to make it easier to see the patient's brain in X-rays. Both Lacks and her husband were Catholic. On January 29, 1951, Lacks went to Johns Hopkins, the only hospital in the area that treated black patients, because she felt
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#17327838124741342-486: Is the rat hepatoma-derived hybrid cell line WIF-B. With the proper culture conditions, Hep G2 cells display robust morphological and functional differentiation with a controllable formation of apical and basolateral cell surface domains (van IJzendoorn et al., 1997; 2000, etc.) that resemble the bile canalicular (BC) and sinusoidal domains, respectively, in vivo . Because of their high degree of morphological and functional differentiation in vitro , Hep G2 cells are
1403-517: Is unknown, but the family believes that it is within a few feet of her mother's gravesite, which for decades was the only one in the family to have been marked with a tombstone. In 2010, Roland Pattillo , a faculty member of the Morehouse School of Medicine who had worked with George Gey and knew the Lacks family, donated a headstone for Lacks. This prompted her family to raise money for
1464-505: The in vitro equivalent of cancerous cells. Cancer occurs when a somatic cell that normally cannot divide undergoes mutations that cause deregulation of the normal cell cycle controls, leading to uncontrolled proliferation. Immortalised cell lines have undergone similar mutations, allowing a cell type that would normally not be able to divide to be proliferated in vitro . The origins of some immortal cell lines – for example, HeLa human cells – are from naturally occurring cancers. HeLa,
1525-752: The Evergreen School District in Vancouver, Washington , named their new high school focused on medical careers the Henrietta Lacks Health and Bioscience High School , becoming the first organization to memorialize her publicly by naming a school in her honor. In 2014, Lacks was inducted into the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame . In 2017, a minor planet in the main asteroid belt was named " 359426 Lacks " in her honor. In 2018, The New York Times published
1586-718: The National Women's Hall of Fame . In 2021, the Henrietta Lacks Enhancing Cancer Research Act of 2019 became law; it states the Government Accountability Office must complete a study about barriers to participation that exist in cancer clinical trials that are federally funded for populations that have been underrepresented in such trials. In October 2021, the University of Bristol unveiled
1647-628: The 1980s, family medical records were published without family consent. A similar issue was brought up in the Supreme Court of California case of Moore v. Regents of the University of California in 1990. The court ruled that a person's discarded tissue and cells are not their property and can be commercialized. In March 2013, researchers published the DNA sequence of the genome of a strain of HeLa cells. The Lacks family discovered this when
1708-471: The 2010 episode "Immortal", which Slate referred to as "shockingly close to the true story" and the musical groups Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine and Yeasayer both released songs about Henrietta Lacks and her legacy. Members of the Lacks family wrote their own stories for the first time in 2013, when Lacks's oldest son and his wife, Lawrence and Bobbette Lacks, wrote
1769-704: The 9th annual Henrietta Lacks Memorial Lecture in the Turner Auditorium in East Baltimore by Johns Hopkins University President Ronald J. Daniels and Paul B. Rothman , CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine and dean of the medical faculty of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine , surrounded by several of Lacks's descendants. "Through her life and her immortal cells, Henrietta Lacks made an immeasurable impact on science and medicine that has touched countless lives around
1830-686: The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore in November 1950, four and a half months before she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. Zakariyya believed his birth to be a miracle as he was "fighting off the cancer cells growing all around him". Around the same time, Elsie was placed in the Hospital for the Negro Insane, later renamed Crownsville Hospital Center , where she died in 1955 at 15 years of age. Historian Paul Lurz says that it
1891-564: The Lacks family in two articles published in 2000 and 2001 and in her 2010 book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks . Skloot worked with Deborah Lacks, who was determined to learn more about her mother, on the book. She used her first royalty check from the book to start the Henrietta Lacks Foundation, which has provided funds like college tuition and medical procedures for Henrietta's family. HBO announced in 2010 that Oprah Winfrey and Alan Ball were developing
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1952-601: The United States government. On December 19, 2022, it was announced that a bronze statue honoring Henrietta Lacks would be erected in Roanoke, Virginia 's Henrietta Lacks Plaza, previously named Lee Plaza after Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee . A statue of Lee was removed from the site in the wake of the protests following the murder of George Floyd. The Lacks statue was unveiled on October 4, 2023. On June 13, 2023, Loudoun County Public Schools Board members approved
2013-537: The WHO, said: "I cannot think of any other single cell line or lab reagent that's been used to this extent and has resulted in so many advances." On March 15, 2022, United States Rep. Kwesi Mfume (D-Md) filed legislation to posthumously award the Congressional Gold Medal to Henrietta Lacks for her distinguished contributions to science. The award is one of the most prestigious civilian honors given by
2074-482: The acute-phase proteins fibrinogen , alpha 2-macroglobulin , alpha 1-antitrypsin , transferrin and plasminogen . They have been grown successfully in large-scale cultivation systems. Hepatitis B virus surface antigens have not been detected. Hep G2 will respond to stimulation with human growth hormone . Hep G2 cells are a suitable in vitro model system for the study of polarized human hepatocytes. Another well-characterized polarized hepatocyte cell line
2135-474: The author Rebecca Skloot informed them. There were objections from the Lacks family about the genetic information that was available for public access. Jeri Lacks Whye, a grandchild of Henrietta Lacks, said to The New York Times , "the biggest concern was privacy—what information was actually going to be out there about our grandmother, and what information they can obtain from her sequencing that will tell them about her children and grandchildren and going down
2196-529: The cell and must be taken into consideration in any analysis. Further, cell lines can change genetically over multiple passages, leading to phenotypic differences among isolates and potentially different experimental results depending on when and with what strain isolate an experiment is conducted. Many cell lines that are widely used for biomedical research have been contaminated and overgrown by other, more aggressive cells. For example, supposed thyroid lines were actually melanoma cells, supposed prostate tissue
2257-531: The conference is held to give recognition to Henrietta Lacks, her cell line, and "the valuable contribution made by African Americans to medical research and clinical practice". The mayor of Atlanta declared the date of the first conference, October 11, 1996, "Henrietta Lacks Day". Lacks's contributions continue to be celebrated at yearly events in Turner Station. At one such event in 1997, then-U.S. Congressman from Maryland, Robert Ehrlich , presented
2318-466: The corner of Ashland and Rutland Avenues and "will support programs that enhance participation and partnership with members of the community in research that can benefit the community, as well as extend the opportunities to further study and promote research ethics and community engagement in research through an expansion of the Berman Institute and its work." In 2020, Lacks was inducted into
2379-693: The couple to leave the tobacco farm in Virginia and move to Turner Station, near Dundalk, Maryland , in Baltimore County , so Day could work in Bethlehem Steel at Sparrows Point, Maryland . Not long after they moved to Maryland, Garrett was called to fight in World War II . With the savings gifted to him by Garrett, Day Lacks was able to purchase a house at 713 New Pittsburgh Avenue in Turner Station. Now part of Dundalk, Turner Station
2440-494: The extraction or use of the HeLa cells. Even though some information about the origins of HeLa's immortalized cell lines was known to researchers after 1970, the Lacks family was not made aware of the line's existence until 1975. With knowledge of the cell line's genetic provenance becoming public, its use for medical research and for commercial purposes continues to raise concerns about privacy and patients' rights. Henrietta Lacks
2501-564: The family also learned through a chance dinner-party conversation that material originating in Henrietta Lacks was continuing to be used for medical research. Prior to this, the family had never discussed Henrietta's illness and death among themselves. Neither Henrietta Lacks nor her family had given her physicians permission to harvest her cells. At that time, permission was neither required nor customarily sought. The cells were used in medical research and for commercial purposes. In
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2562-477: The first immortal human cell line on record to be successfully isolated and proliferated by a laboratory, was taken from Henrietta Lacks in 1951 at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore , Maryland. Immortalised cell lines are widely used as a simple model for more complex biological systems – for example, for the analysis of the biochemistry and cell biology of mammalian (including human ) cells. The main advantage of using an immortal cell line for research
2623-403: The first researcher to study Lacks's cancerous cells, observed that these cells were unusual in that they reproduced at a very high rate and could be kept alive long enough to allow more in-depth examination. Until then, cells cultured for laboratory studies survived for only a few days at most, which was not long enough to perform a variety of different tests on the same sample. Lacks's cells were
2684-415: The first to be observed that could be divided multiple times without dying, which is why they became known as "immortal". After Lacks's death, Gey had Mary Kubicek, his lab assistant, take further HeLa samples while Henrietta's body was at Johns Hopkins' autopsy facility. The roller-tube technique was the method used to culture the cells obtained from the samples that Kubicek collected. Gey was able to start
2745-401: The globe for "research into cancer , AIDS , the effects of radiation and toxic substances, gene mapping , and countless other scientific pursuits". HeLa cells were the first human cells successfully cloned, in 1955, and have since been used to test human sensitivity to tape, glue, cosmetics, and many other products. There are almost 11,000 patents involving HeLa cells. In the early 1970s,
2806-494: The line." That same year another group working on a different HeLa cell line's genome under National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding, submitted it for publication. In August 2013, an agreement was announced between the family and the NIH that gave the family some control over access to the cells' DNA sequence found in the two studies along with a promise of acknowledgement in scientific papers. In addition, two family members will join
2867-511: The name of the new school, Henrietta Lacks Elementary School, in Aldie, Virginia . The school will serve 960 students from kindergarten through 2nd grade and is expected to open in August 2024. The question of how and whether her race affected her treatment, the lack of obtaining consent, and her relative obscurity continues to be controversial. The HeLa cell line's connection to Henrietta Lacks
2928-551: The portrait was jointly acquired by the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Smithsonian 's National Portrait Gallery . The wallpaper in the painting is made up of the "Flower of Life" alluding to the immortality of her cells. The flowers on her dress resemble images of cell structures, and the two missing buttons on her dress symbolize her cells taken without permission. NBC's Law & Order aired its own fictionalized version of Lacks's story in
2989-516: The series El Ministerio del Tiempo , the immortality of her cells in the lab is cited as the precedent for the character Arteche's "extreme resistance to infections, to injuries, and to cellular degeneration. In other words to aging": that his cells are immortal. In the Netflix original movie Project Power (2020), the case of Henrietta Lacks is cited by one of the villains of the story as an example of unwilling trials giving rise to advances for
3050-516: The six-member committee that will regulate access to the sequence data. In October 2021, Lacks's estate filed a lawsuit against Thermo Fisher Scientific for profiting from the HeLa cell line without Lacks's consent, asking for "the full amount of [Thermo Fisher's] net profits". On July 31, 2023, Thermo Fisher Scientific settled with the Lacks family on undisclosed terms. In 1996, Morehouse School of Medicine held its first annual HeLa Women's Health Conference. Led by physician Roland Pattillo ,
3111-420: The world," Daniels said. "This building will stand as a testament to her transformative impact on scientific discovery and the ethics that must undergird its pursuit. We at Johns Hopkins are profoundly grateful to the Lacks family for their partnership as we continue to learn from Mrs. Lacks's life and to honor her enduring legacy." The building will adjoin the Berman Institute of Bioethics' Deering Hall, located at
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#17327838124743172-472: Was 31 years old, went to Johns Hopkins for a routine treatment session and asked to be admitted due to continued severe abdominal pain. She received blood transfusions and remained at the hospital until her death on October 4, 1951. A partial autopsy showed that the cancer had metastasized throughout her entire body. Lacks was buried in an unmarked grave in the family cemetery, in a section of Clover, Virginia, called Lackstown. Lacks's exact burial location
3233-479: Was actually bladder cancer, and supposed normal uterine cultures were actually breast cancer. There are several methods for generating immortalised cell lines: There are several examples of immortalised cell lines, each with different properties. Most immortalised cell lines are classified by the cell type they originated from or are most similar to biologically Henrietta Lacks Henrietta Lacks (born Loretta Pleasant ; August 1, 1920 – October 4, 1951)
3294-423: Was an African-American woman whose cancer cells are the source of the HeLa cell line, the first immortalized human cell line and one of the most important cell lines in medical research . An immortalized cell line reproduces indefinitely under specific conditions, and the HeLa cell line continues to be a source of invaluable medical data to the present day. Lacks was the unwitting source of these cells from
3355-408: Was born Loretta Pleasant on August 1, 1920, in Roanoke, Virginia , to Eliza Pleasant (née Lacks) (1886–1924) and John "Johnny" Randall Pleasant (1881–1969). She is remembered as having hazel eyes, a small waist, size 6 shoes, and always wearing red nail polish and a neatly pleated skirt. Her family is uncertain how her name changed from Loretta to Henrietta, but she was nicknamed Hennie. When Lacks
3416-531: Was first brought to popular attention in March 1976 with a pair of articles in the Detroit Free Press and Rolling Stone written by reporter Michael Rogers , though Rogers erroneously states her name as Helen Lane. In 1998, Adam Curtis directed a BBC documentary about Henrietta Lacks called The Way of All Flesh . Rebecca Skloot documented extensive histories of both the HeLa cell line and
3477-485: Was four years old in 1924, her mother died giving birth to her tenth child. Unable to care for the children alone after his wife's death, Lacks's father moved the family to Clover, Virginia , where the children were distributed among relatives. Lacks ended up with her maternal grandfather, Thomas "Tommy" Henry Lacks, in a two-story log cabin that was once the slave quarters on the plantation that had been owned by Henrietta's white great-grandfather and great-uncle. She shared
3538-538: Was in the sixth grade. When Lacks was 14 years old, she gave birth to a son, Lawrence Lacks (1935–2023). In 1939, her daughter Elsie Lacks (1939–1955) was born. Both children were fathered by Day Lacks. Elsie had epilepsy and cerebral palsy and was described by the family as "different" or "deaf and dumb". On April 10, 1941, David "Day" Lacks and Henrietta Lacks were married in Halifax County, Virginia . Later that year, their cousin, Fred Garrett, convinced
3599-537: Was one of the oldest and largest African-American communities in Baltimore County at that time. Living in Maryland, Henrietta and Day Lacks had three more children: David "Sonny" Lacks Jr. (1947–2022), Deborah Lacks (later known as Deborah Lacks Pullum, 1949–2009), and Joseph Lacks (later known as Zakariyya Bari Abdul Rahman after converting to Islam, 1950–2020). Henrietta gave birth to her last child at
3660-404: Was told that she had a malignant epidermoid carcinoma of the cervix. In 1970, physicians discovered that she had been misdiagnosed and actually had an adenocarcinoma . This was a common mistake at the time, and the treatment would not have differed. Lacks was treated with radium tube inserts as an inpatient and discharged a few days later with instructions to return for X-ray treatments as
3721-567: Was using HeLa cells in his research to develop the polio vaccine . To test his new vaccine, the cells were mass-produced in the first-ever cell production factory. Additionally, Chester M. Southam , a leading virologist, injected HeLa cells into cancer patients, prison inmates, and healthy individuals in order to observe whether cancer could be transmitted as well as to examine if one could become immune to cancer by developing an acquired immune response. HeLa cells were in high demand and put into mass production. They were mailed to scientists around
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