From the beginning of time, people have been fascinated with the idea of living forever. Different cultures worship immortal gods, religious groups pray for everlasting life, and modern scientists are always working toward new ways of helping us live longer, healthier lives. It’s no question that immortality captivates us. Why else would we watch all these vampire dramas? So what if I told you it was possible for humans to become immortal? Well its true, but not in the way you might expect.

HeLa cells

On October 4 1951, something of a medical miracle occurred at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. On that day, a 31-year-old mother of five named Henrietta Lacks died of cervical cancer. Although her death seems to contradict the idea of immortality, the cells taken from her cancerous tumor have survived for over 60 years. Researchers know that it’s very hard to keep human cells alive for extended periods of time once they are removed from the human body. Almost always after being removed from the body, cells die immediately or reproduce only a limited amount of times. Her cells were different.   These “HeLa” cells, named after the late Henrietta Lacks, could grow continuously in the lab. Her cells had the ability to reproduce indefinitely, making “HeLa” the first line of immortal human cells.

The best hypothesis as to why the “HeLa” cells were able to survive and reproduce was linked to the fact that her cells were cancerous, which meant that they did not experience a process known as programmed cell death (PCD) or cell suicide. These cancerous cells were made even more malicious by the syphilis and HIV from which she suffered. As a result, her cells have now outlived her and will continue to live until after her great grandchildren have died of old age.

Researchers took advantage of this immortal line.   Having human cells that could survive outside the human body meant scientists could study cell properties, watch how viruses and toxins acted inside the cells, and even expose the cells to conditions that otherwise would not have been considered ethical if the cells had still been inside a human body. Because of this, studies done with “HeLa” cells have led to some of the most important medical advances of our time: creating important vaccines for deadly diseases, understanding the causes of different infections, and inventing new medical techniques to help cure or prevent diseases. One of the most well known uses for her cells was an experiment done in the 1950’s by researcher Jonas Stark in which he used “HeLa” cells to find a vaccine for the polio virus. Even after death, Lacks continues to save lives. Her cells have been used to research ways of curing and preventing the very diseases that took her life.

If all the “HeLa” cells being stored around the world were to be lined up next to each other, they would be able to circle the globe at least three times. That’s a lot of Henrietta Lacks cells still living and growing, considering she was only five feet tall when she died.

Henrietta Lacks was the first woman to become immortal, but she isn’t the last. Since 1951, there have been more immortal lines of human cells discovered, but none are as widely used in biomedical research as “HeLa” cells. By studying her cells, we come one step closer to discovering a way for humans to become immortal.  Although Henrietta Lacks died long ago, she allowed us to discover that human cells had the possibility of living forever, and that somewhere down the line, the rest of us could become immortal as well.  We will just have to stick around and see what science has in store!

References:

http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/cellular-microscopic/hela-cell3.htm

http://directorsblog.nih.gov/2013/08/07/hela-cells-a-new-chapter-in-an-enduring-story/