Lucey Brendan P, Nelson-Rees Walter A, Hutchins Grover M
Department of Neurology, Michael O'Callaghan Federal Hospital, Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada 89191, USA.
Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2009 Sep;133(9):1463-7. doi: 10.5858/133.9.1463.
Henrietta Lacks died in 1951 of an aggressive adenocarcinoma of the cervix. A tissue biopsy obtained for diagnostic evaluation yielded additional tissue for Dr George O. Gey's tissue culture laboratory at Johns Hopkins (Baltimore, Maryland). The cancer cells, now called HeLa cells, grew rapidly in cell culture and became the first human cell line. HeLa cells were used by researchers around the world. However, 20 years after Henrietta Lacks' death, mounting evidence suggested that HeLa cells contaminated and overgrew other cell lines. Cultures, supposedly of tissues such as breast cancer or mouse, proved to be HeLa cells. We describe the history behind the development of HeLa cells, including the first published description of Ms Lacks' autopsy, and the cell culture contamination that resulted. The debate over cell culture contamination began in the 1970s and was not harmonious. Ultimately, the problem was not resolved and it continues today. Finally, we discuss the philosophical implications of the immortal HeLa cell line.
海瑞塔·拉克斯于1951年死于侵袭性宫颈癌。为进行诊断评估而获取的组织活检样本为约翰·霍普金斯大学（马里兰州巴尔的摩）的乔治·O·盖伊博士的组织培养实验室提供了额外的组织。这些癌细胞，如今被称为海拉细胞，在细胞培养中迅速生长，成为了首个人类细胞系。世界各地的研究人员都使用过海拉细胞。然而，在海瑞塔·拉克斯去世20年后，越来越多的证据表明海拉细胞污染并过度生长于其他细胞系。那些本应是乳腺癌或小鼠等组织的培养物，结果却被证明是海拉细胞。我们描述了海拉细胞发展背后的历史，包括首次发表的关于拉克斯女士尸检的描述，以及由此导致的细胞培养污染。关于细胞培养污染的争论始于20世纪70年代，并不和谐。最终，这个问题没有得到解决，一直持续到今天。最后，我们讨论了不朽的海拉细胞系的哲学意义。
