What cell line used in research that was taken from an African-American woman who died in 1951 is the oldest and most commonly used human cell line?
Cell culture tandem repeat (STR) DNA fingerprinting to authenticate its cell lines. To address this problem of cell line cross-contamination, researchers are encouraged to authenticate their cell lines at an early passage to establish the identity of the cell line. Authentication should be repeated before freezing cell line stocks, every two months during active culturing and before any publication of research data generated using the cell lines. Many methods are used to identify cell lines, including isoenzyme analysis, human lymphocyte antigen (HLA) typing, chromosomal analysis, karyotyping, morphology and STR analysis. One significant cell-line cross contaminant is the immortal HeLa cell line. As
HeLa HeLa HeLa (; also Hela or hela) is an immortal cell line used in scientific research. It is the oldest and most commonly used human cell line. The line was derived from cervical cancer cells taken on February 8, 1951 from Henrietta Lacks, a patient who died of cancer on October 4, 1951. The cell line was found to be remarkably durable and prolific which warrants its extensive use in scientific research. The cells from Lacks's cancerous cervical tumor were taken without her knowledge or consent. Cell biologist George Otto Gey found that they could be kept alive, and isolated