This analysis further highlights the persistent impact of HeLa cells in science and medicine, proving that they have been a consistent, essential tool that has allowed researchers to expand the knowledge base in fields such as cancer biology, infectious disease, and many others.
HeLa cells were the first human cell line to be established and have been widely used in laboratory studies, especially in research on viruses, cancer, and human genetics.
HeLa cell | Cancer Research, Immortal Cells & Tissue Culture - Britannica
The Importance of HeLa Cells Among the important scientific discoveries of the last century was the first immortal human cell line known as “HeLa” — a remarkably durable and prolific line of cells obtained during the treatment of Henrietta’s cancer by Johns Hopkins researcher Dr. George Gey in 1951.
Lacks’ cervical cancer cells, called “HeLa” after the first two letters of her first and last name, are immortal, continuing to divide when most cells would die.
There are many strains of HeLa cells, because they mutate during division in cell cultures, but all HeLa cells are descended from the same tumor cells removed from Lacks.
HeLa cells are the first immortal human cells to be grown in culture and the basis for countless significant scientific discoveries. They were isolated in 1951 from a cervical carcinoma derived from a 31-year-old patient.
HeLa cells could be produced in enormous quantities cheaply and quickly, making mass testing possible. The polio vaccine was declared safe and effective in 1955, and HeLa cells played a direct role in getting it there.