Homo sapiens (HPV-18-positive cervical adenocarcinoma)
control mechanism
Constitutive telomerase (TERT) reactivation and HPV-18 E6/E7 inactivation of endogenous p53 and Rb pathways
pioneer
George Otto Gey (Johns Hopkins Hospital tissue culture laboratory, isolated February 8, 1951)
Core Principles & Analysis
Established on February 8, 1951, by cell biologist George Otto Gey at Johns Hopkins Hospital from a cervical cancer biopsy taken without consent from 31-year-old Henrietta Lacks, HeLa became the first human cell line to proliferate indefinitely in vitro.
HeLa cells enabled Jonas Salk's 1953 polio vaccine neutralization assays, the first cloning of a single human cell by Theodore Puck and Philip Marcus (1955), and foundational studies of telomerase, mitosis, and anticancer drug cytotoxicity.
Because HPV-18 DNA integrated into the HeLa genome expresses viral E6 and E7 oncoproteins that degrade p53 and inactivate retinoblastoma (Rb) protein while activating TERT telomerase, HeLa cells bypass replicative senescence.