The University of Southampton

Author: Jessica Reed

Unwilling Immortality: The Stolen Cells of Henrietta Lacks

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Previous to our lectures on bioethics, I believed that I had a very uncompromising way of assessing scientific ethical concerns: with some exceptions, the advancement of science was worth the cost of a few. From someone who grew up surrounded by scientific minds, this utilitarianism made sense. Why shouldn’t we strive for “the greatest happiness of the greatest number” as stated by Jeremy Bentham? However, since learning about watershed moments in history like the Nuremberg trials, I have learnt that not everything can be so easily segregated into right and wrong. This lead me to reflect on a scientific controversy that I had learned of in my previous year of study: HeLa cells.

What are HeLa cells?

HeLa cells were the first immortal human cell line to be created. Derived from cervical cancer cells, they were cloned in 1953 and freely given to researchers for use in labs. Since then, they have been at the forefront of many medical breakthroughs: from gene mapping to cancer research. Arguably, their most notable use was in the development of the Polio vaccine in 1952.

The Woman Behind The Cells

Henrietta Lacks was an African-American woman born in August 1920. She died of an aggressive cervical cancer at the John Hopkins hospital at the age of 31. Unbeknownst to her, one of the gynaecologist who performed her biopsies, Dr Grey, had removed a sample of the tumour for research purposes. He was able to isolate the cancer cells and thus create the first immortal human cell line: HeLa. Knowledge about the use of her cells was not revealed to the family until an article published in Rolling Stone until 1976. Since then, there has been much conversation about the unethical obtainment and distribution of Henrietta’s cells.

Henrietta Lacks

Learning from the Past

The main issue regarding HeLa cells was lack of consent. Although this was acceptable at the time, since then, Henrietta’s name has been shared alongside her medical record and even her cell’s genome. Following this, the Henrietta Lacks Foundation, established in 2010, provides grants to descendants, and families whose bodies have been used for research without consent. Henrietta’s descendants have worked tirelessly to create rules over the use of HeLa cells but there is still work to be done. Suggestions of revisions to the NIH Common Rule to protect human participants in US government funded research regarding consent have been put forward. In addition, there is a general consensus that institutions that have used HeLa cells must examine how they will right histories previous wrongs.

What are my Thoughts?

From a scientist’s perspective, the actions of Dr Grey seem understandable. To some, even justifiable. To me however, it is a clear example of where our thirst for knowledge clouds our judgment on what is morally right. Informed consent is a relatively easy standard to meet when obtaining samples for research, especially in cases such as these where the patient is of sound mind. I do not condone the actions of Dr Grey. Despite this, the argument could be made that to remove or limit both past and future contributions of the HeLa cells to modern medicine would be both a disservice to Henrietta. Without her, many scientific advancements would not have been possible. Instead, I think it possible to find a middle ground. One which allows the continued use of the HeLa cells in research whilst also acknowledging their origins.

So reader, over to you. What are your thoughts on the continued use of these cells?

Learn More

If you’re interested in Henrietta Lack’s story, you can find out more with these links below:

Bioengineering with Bubbles!

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After an insightful trip to the hospital for the Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Masterclass, I discovered a new branch of biomedical engineering that I’d never considered: using bubbles in medicine! Now I know what you’re thinking, but these aren’t bubbles that you’d make from soapy water and by waving a wand around vigorously in the air. Instead, these bubbles are microscopic, made from a monolayer of phospholipids that self aggregate to form a sphere with a gas core. PhD student Aya Ben Issa demonstrated how to create these bubbles, alongside explaining some potential uses, including her own research focus, using them to break up biofilms. This got me thinking, what other uses for microbubbles are there?

Microbubbles for Imaging

Primarily, microbubbles are used for contrast enhanced ultrasound in medical imaging. Sounds like a mouthful, but in reality, it essentially improves the imaging quality by creating a better distinction between the tissues and the injected microbubbles. I’ve included a video so you can have a look for yourselves:

Microbubbles for drug delivery

When the idea of microbubbles was first introduced, my mind initially went to using them for delivering drugs. And why not? These micro compartments seemed like the ideal packaging for doing exactly that. With further research into the topic, I discovered that I wasn’t the only one who thought the same. Our current module lead, Professor Nicholas Evans has published an article on using them to deliver oxygen to tissues. This has shown promise for bone cancer treatments by reducing metastasis. This supports my initial thought; that things can be delivered within the bubble. But what about on them? Well, once again, studies have indicated that insertion of drugs into the microbubble shell in addition to attaching site-specific ligands have been show to allow targeted delivery of drugs to areas where pathologies have occurred.

When do Ultrasound and Microbubbles Go Hand in Hand?

So, you’ve put your drugs within your microbubbles and injected them into the patient. They’ve travelled to the target site. Now what? You need to actually get your drugs out of the bubble and into the tissue. This is where ultrasound comes in. Ultrasound is able to create oscillations and compressions within the shell of the microbubble, causing a large dose of drug to be released. In addition to the microtubules being the delivery agents of the drugs, they can also be used as mechanical agents. The ultrasound once again causes oscillations, this causes transient, miniscule disruptions in the plasma membranes of the cell, allowing drugs to once again enter the cell. This process is known as sonoporation.

Examples of Uses

In summary of the topics I have suggested above, the image below highlights some of these applications, from drug delivery to sonoporation, as well as some other potential applications.

What do I think?

In my opinion, the application of microbubbles have great potential. Of course, further studies will have to be done to fully understand the extent to which we can use this technology. There are still limitations when it comes to the therapeutic uses of these microbubbles in addition to some novel ideas such as Aya’s application of them to disrupting biofilms. What do you think? Can you think of any other uses of these microbubbles?

Want some more info?

Use the hyperlinks in this article for a more in-depth understanding of the topic I have discussed today! 🙂