Cell Growth and Diffusing in the Body

A while back, around 1951, a woman named Henrietta Lacks was brought into the hospital and was diagnosed with cervical cancer, and in this diagnosis, doctors took samples of her cells, in which they discovered a special cell, called HeLa cells. They seemed to reproduce, and continue to grow even after Henrietta Lacks has passed away. It is known that cells reproduce through the process of mitosis, and this forms a great amount of cells. what has been hypothesized is that there must have been a mutation in her DNA which caused the formation of these HeLa cells,and when these cells reproduced, many HeLa cells had formed in Henrietta Lacks' body. The HeLa cells may have also been the reason behind her cervical cancer, and internal bleeding. However, what may be the most accurate assumption of HeLa cells, and other cancer formation is because of mutations in a humans DNA, and when cells form, they have to reproduce, and they do not seem to have a cell cycle control system, which the cycle operates set of molecules in the cell that both triggers and coordinates key events in the cell cycle, and without this cycle, the cells do not have control over their reproduction, and this can form into cancer. Many researchers have found that cyclin dependent kinases work as a signaling protein to let a cell know when to divide or not, they attach at checkpoints which work as a regulator. Cdk's function by phosphorylating substrate proteins that tell the cell what to do, whether that is to stop dividing or to continue with the cycle. Due to the fact cdk's are a controlling factor that determine whether the cell continues or stops dividing it is evident that there is a problem in cancer cells that ignores or has a much more rapid rate of cyclin/ cdk's produced that signal for the cell to continue dividing making the cell cycle control system void.

Research Use of HeLa Cells

        In a research article, it is said that during 2014, Dr. Arulanandam, a cellular immunologist, researched the mechanisms by which Chlamydia trachomatis causes disease in humans. Chlamydia trachomatis is regarded as the leading cause of sexually transmitted bacterial disease worldwide. If the infection continues to go untreated, it can possibly lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, which poses as a threat to human reproduction and causes inflammation and scarring in the fallopian tubes, leading to the increased risk of ectopic pregnancy and infertility.
         It is affirmed that each year in the United States, approximately 750,000 women experience an episode of acute pelvic inflammatory disease. The article said, "Up to 15% of these women may become infertile as a result of this disease" [1]. Interactions of Chlamydia trachomatis with major components, especially immune effectors, provides critical information for the development of significant vaccine research.

Here is picture of the infection on HeLa Cells:

 

         The reason that this type of research is able to be done on HeLa cells is because although HeLa cells are cancerous and are "immortal" unlike many other cells because they continuously replicate, they still share similar characteristics as other cells. To further explain, just like regular cells, they produce proteins, express and regulate genes, communicate with one another, and are susceptible to infections. These characteristics make them very useful for testing diseases and developing vaccines for the diseases, like with what Dr. Arulanandam focused on with Chlamydia trachomatis.

Citation:
 1. "South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases (STCEID)." STCEID. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2015.

How Henrietta Lacks got Cancer

Henrietta Lacks was an African American woman tobacco farmer who was diagnosed with cervical cancer at the age of  31 and died a few months after having it diagnosed. Her cells are unique still today because they are immortal.
There are two different types of tumors benign and malignant. Benign tumors are not harmful whereas malignant tumors are, which is what Henrietta lacks had. There must have been enough mutations to her cells that made them continuously divide and form the malignant cervical tumor. Unlike malignant tumors, benign tumors are irregular abundance of tissue that forms when cells in a confined area reproduce at a fast rate. The cells of a benign tumor are derived from normal cells, but  change enough to make them passive to the usual controls that regulate growth. (1)
Henrietta Lacks must have had at least one cell that undergone a mutation to make it a cancerous cell which then continued to divide and form a malignant tumor. From there the tumor grew out of control due the her cell's rapid division and then established new tumors (metastases). Because cancer cells are not anchored to one place these cells had the ability to float around her body and spread everywhere. (2)
Cites
1. "Tumor, Benign." Tumor Benign. American Medical Association, 2012. Web. 19 Jan. 2015. <http://www.mdguidelines.com/tumor-benign>.
2. "Understanding Cancer." Cancer. BSCS and Videodiscovery, Inc., 1999. Web. 17 Jan. 2015. <https://science.education.nih.gov/supplements/nih1/cancer/guide/understanding1.htm>.

HeLa Cell Karyotype Comparison

    The HeLa cell has many more chromosomes                                                                                           than a normal cell  in weird unique positions in

                         HeLa Cell Karyotype                        various sizes.
                                                                                   

                       Normal Cell Karyotype

HeLa cells may have this jumbled up overproduced mess of chromosomes because unlike normal cells they continue to reproduce at a rapid rate and are never really dormant. HeLa cells continue to grow and divide and grow and divide over and over and over again. Due to the fact this happens at such a fast exponential rate the cell is definitely prone to make more genetic mistakes in copying its DNA; this is most likely why HeLa cells chromosomes are so different. I also believe HeLa cells do not have a cell cycle control system to operate the molecules in the cell that both triggers and coordinates key events in the cell, because they don't need any trigger and they have no control, the frequency of cell division for a HeLa cell is constant. That would also explain why a HeLa cell has so many more chromosomes, whereas we only have two for each number HeLa cells can have up to 6 for each number, due to their rapid replication process.


cites

1. http://www.htcl.cytspb.rssi.ru/tomors/HeLa-229.html
2. http://www.google.com/search?q=normal+cell+Karyotype&biw=1024&bih=441&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=zIe2VMGiDfeIsQS88oGACQ&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&safe=active&ssui=on#imgdii=_&imgrc=RsNcy8E_76I1lM%253A%3BcOuzGrhJSQkzsM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.amsbio.com%252Fimages%252Ffeatureareas%252FKSR%252520Karyotype.png%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.amsbio.com%252Fserum-replacement.aspx%3B630%3B492

Outlook on HeLa Cells

HeLa cells were taken from an African American women who was a tobacco farmer named Henrietta Lacks; she was diagnosed with cervical cancer at the age of 30.These HeLa cells were taken from her without her consent and the family still has not received a penny for their mother's tremendous contribution to the society of medicine. Besides the unlawful factors of attaining these cells, they have saved numerous lives. Personally these discoveries justify the use of HeLa cells. HeLa cells have made it possible to develop a polio vaccine, in vitro fertilization, HPV vaccine, drugs for Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and diabetes.
HeLa cells were the first cells to be used for cloning, and to be sent up in space to analyze what would happen to human cells in space. Due to the fact that these cells are immortal and reproduce at a rapid pace, it allows them to be mass produced and observed and it also led to the creation of the field of cell culture. There are an immense amount of discoveries made by these truly unique cells, about 70,000 medical studies have been put to action using these cells, leading to extraordinary findings (1). In addition to all its significant drugs its been used for, its also been used in studies to find drugs for herpes, Leukemia, influenza lactose digestion to mosquito mating (1). The ethics behind taking Henrietta Lacks's cells may have been incorrect but in all, her cells have helped save an abundance of peoples lives.

Cites
1. Silver, Marc. "A New Chapter in the immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 16 Aug. 2013. Web. 11 Jan, 2015.