HeLa cells 50 years on: the good, the bad and the ugly

@article{Masters2002HeLaC5,
  title={HeLa cells 50 years on: the good, the bad and the ugly},
  author={J. Masters},
  journal={Nature Reviews Cancer},
  year={2002},
  volume={2},
  pages={315-319}
}
  • J. Masters
  • Published 2002
  • Medicine
  • Nature Reviews Cancer
HeLa cells — the first continuous cancer cell line — have been a mainstay of cancer research ever since their isolation from the aggressive glandular cervical cancer of a young woman more than 50 years ago. Knowledge of almost every process that occurs in human cells has been obtained using HeLa cells and the many other cell lines that have since been isolated. So why does fraud an ignorance surround the use of these and other human cancer cell lines? 
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409 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
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Background Citations
150
Methods Citations
33
Results Citations
2

409 Citations

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Citation Type

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A breakthrough in cell culture is described that may be the answer to one of the biggest challenges in cancer biology research, the development of a method to generate stable cancer cell lines from primary tumors. Expand
Persistent use of “false” cell lines
  • M. Lacroix
  • Biology, Medicine
  • International journal of cancer
  • 2008
TLDR
A collaborative action involving users of cell lines, cell banks, journals and funding agencies is needed to achieve success, notably based on recent technical advances in cell line authentication (short tandem repeat analysis). Expand
HeLa Cell Line
The HeLa cell line was the first immortal human cell line that George Otto Gey, Margaret Gey, and Mary Kucibek first isolated from Henrietta Lacks and developed at The Johns Hopkins Hospital [4] in… Expand
False leukemia–lymphoma cell lines: an update on over 500 cell lines
TLDR
These findings provide a rationale for mandating the procurement of reputably sourced LL cell lines and their regular authentication thereafter and discuss the impact of cross-contamination on scientific research, the reluctance of scientists to address the problem, and possible solutions. Expand
Henrietta Lacks, HeLa cells, and cell culture contamination.
TLDR
The history behind the development of HeLa cells, including the first published description of Ms Lacks' autopsy, and the cell culture contamination that resulted are described. Expand
Discovery of HeLa Cell Contamination in HES Cells
TLDR
The discovery of HeLa cell contamination of the human endometrial epithelial cell line HES isolated in the laboratory is reported and it is verified that WISH cells, isolated originally from human amnion epithelium, were also contaminated with HeLa cells. Expand
Exploring Life and Death at the Cellular Level: An Examination of How Our Cells Can Live Without Us
TLDR
Examples of how and why cells have lived on long after the individual they came from has died are presented and questions such as, “Who owns the authors' biological samples once they leave their bodies?” and, ‘Is cell culture a form of immortality?’ will be discussed. Expand
False cell lines: The problem and a solution
TLDR
How cross-contamination occurs, the use of false cell lines in leading biomedical journals is catalogued, and ways to resolve the problem are suggested. Expand
Cell line cross-contamination: How aware are mammalian cell culturists of the problem and how to monitor it?
TLDR
Overall, the results of this study indicate a lack of vigilance in cell acquisition and identity testing and some researchers are still using Hela contaminants without apparent awareness of their true identity. Expand
Lung cancer cell lines: Useless artifacts or invaluable tools for medical science?
TLDR
The advantages and disadvantages of the use of cell lines are discussed, the issues of instability and lack of differentiation are addressed, and every important, recurrent genetic and epigenetic change found in tumors has been identified in cell lines. Expand
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