Henrietta Lacks’ Cells May Be Responsible For The Future Of Medicine – Huffington Post

When Henrietta Lacks, a 31-year-old black woman from Virginia,sought treatment for stomach pain at Baltimores Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1951, doctors discovered a fast-growing cancerous tumor on Lacks cervix.

Doctors harvested Lacks cells without her permission during surgery a clear ethical violation today in the hopes of using them for scientific research.Those same cells continued to replicate long after her death from cervical cancer, however, and they fueled some of the most noteworthy scientific advancements in modern medicine.

Now The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,a movie staring television personality Oprah Winfrey, based on the 2010 book of the same name, seeks to cement Lacks place in medical history.

I am a student of the African American culture ... I have never, in all of my readings, in all of my stories, heard of HeLa or Henrietta Lacks, Oprah said at press event in April. I could not believe that. How could I have been in this town all this time and never seen one thing about her?

For a snapshot of how influential Lacks cells, also called HeLa cells, have been on science, look no further than PubMed, the National Institutes of Healths online library for medical research. SearchingHeLanets more than 90,000 results. Indeed, HeLas influence is so widespread, involved and often, interconnected, thats its impossible to pinpoint its scope.

Heres how HeLa will influence the future of medicine:

Indeed, HeLa cells have been a cornerstone of research for Andrew Adey, assistant professor of molecular and medical genetics at Oregon Health and Science University, where he does cancer research.

Because HeLa cells are extremely well documented, Adey uses them as a control for the cancer-detecting technologies his group develops.

We use HeLa cells to calibrate and refine our technologies because we know exactly which mutations are present, he told The Huffington Post.Just about every single technology we work on developing, we use HeLa cells first.

Its not possible to quantify how many lives have been saved from research based on HeLa cells, but one measure, in combination with gains in preventative medicine, might point to the scope:Deaths from cervical cancer, the disease that took Lacks life,declined more than 60 percent between 1955 and 1992, according to the NIH.

HeLa cell research has also had an immense influence on health beyond cancer, contributing also to the development of the polio vaccine and helping to map the human genome.

The number of lives saved by research that utilized HeLa is most likely in the millions, Adey said.

HeLa-based research laid the groundwork for whats known as precision medicine: treatments tailored to an individuals environment, lifestyle and genes, rather than a one-size-fits-all prescription.

Precision medicine is regarded by some oncologists as the future of cancer treatment. One example is immunotherapy, in which scientists stimulate a patients immune system to treat his or her cancer. The stimulation can range from drugs to vaccines to cell transfers.

This type of research had been championed by former President Barack Obama, who allotted $215 million for a Precision Medicine Initiative in his 2016 budget.

HeLa cells continue to be a major tool in many laboratories focused on the development of cancer drugs, said Patricia Thompson-Carino,a pathology professor at Stony Brook School of Medicine.

HeLa cells have bolstered scientists knowledge about cancer treatment resistance and helped doctors to better match cancer drugs to patients. And although immunotherapy is multifaceted, and certainly doesnt work for everyone, former President Jimmy Carters immune system-boosting melanoma treatmentin 2015 is one notable success.

Today, HeLas not the only immortal cell line aiding researchers, but it arguably paved the way for those lines and the immeasurable medical innovation that followed.

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Henrietta Lacks' Cells May Be Responsible For The Future Of Medicine - Huffington Post

UNC researchers ID cell where HIV persists despite treatment – Asheboro Courier Tribune

Abbie Bennett The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.) (TNS)

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have identified a cell where HIV persists even when patients are treated for the disease.

This discovery creates a new target for cure research.

HIV cure research to date has focused on clearing the virus from T cells, a type of white blood cell that is an essential part of the immune system.

But researchers in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the UNC School of Medicine have found that the virus still persists in HIV-infested macrophages large white blood cells found in tissues throughout the body, including the liver, lungs, bone marrow and brain.

This discovery has significant implications for HIV cure research researchers said. The findings were published Monday in Nature Medicine.

These results are paradigm changing because they demonstrate that cells other than T cells can serve as a reservoir for HIV, said Dr. Jenna Honeycutt, lead author and postdoctoral research associate in the UNC Division of Infectious Diseases. The fact that HIV-infected macrophages can persist means that any possible therapeutic intervention to eradicate HIV might have to target two very different types of cells.

Now that researchers know HIV persists in macrophages, the next step will be to determine what regulates HIV persistence in tissue macrophages, where in the body persistently infected macrophages reside during HIV treatment and how macrophages respond to possible therapeutic interventions aimed at eradicating HIV from the body.

The UNC School of Medicine team collaborated with scientists in UNCs Department of Biostatistics, the Theoretical Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System and the Departments of Medicine and Pathology at the University of California at San Diego. The study was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

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UNC researchers ID cell where HIV persists despite treatment - Asheboro Courier Tribune

PolarityTE(TM), Inc. Enters Formal Agreement with Cell Therapy and … – Yahoo Finance

SALT LAKE CITY, UT--(Marketwired - Apr 20, 2017) - PolarityTE, Inc. ("Polarity") ( NASDAQ : COOL ) announces the signing of a manufacturing agreement with Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine ("CTRM") at the University of Utah School of Medicine. CTRM is the established manufacturer of hematopoietic stem cell transplants for renowned institutions of the Salt Lake region such as the Huntsman Cancer Institute and Primary Children's Hospital. In addition, CTRM manufactures a variety of regenerative medicine products, is FACT accredited, and has technical expertise in current Good Tissue Practice (cGTP) and current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP).

Denver Lough, MD, PhD, Chairman and CEO, stated, "This agreement with CTRM should provide PolarityTE with rapid clinical translation of the promising products we are developing, and takes us one step closer to achieving our goal of clinical application of our launch product, SkinTE. As we prepare for market entry in 2018, our established relationship with CTRM creates a springboard for the anticipated scale-up to address the large burn and chronic wound markets, with the pursuit of our own independent manufacturing facility. Plans are solidifying for a unique solution to both commercial and emergent relief manufacturing of SkinTE and future Polarity products. Our goal is not only to meet demand, but also to be able to deliver promptly around the globe when urgent response is needed."

About Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine (CTRM) CTRM at the University of Utah is engaged in delivering some of the world's most advanced cellular therapies to patients.CTRM provides unique resources and expertise that feworganizations can internally create to achieve large scale manufacturing of cell- and tissue-based products for clinical trials.Highly experienced CTRM staff support the Blood and Marrow Transplant (BMT) Programs at Huntsman Cancer Institute and Primary Children's Hospital to deliver high quality stem cell products for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma, aplastic anemia and other types of blood diseases and disorders.CTRM is also developing and providing novel clinical grade cellular and tissue engineered products via comprehensive "bench" to "bedside" services that coordinate efforts of clinicians, entrepreneurs, researchers and bioengineers. CTRM with its industry partners is translating some of the newest cellular and tissue based discoveries into clinical applications to extend and improve the quality of life for individuals suffering from debilitating diseases and injuries.For more information go to http://www.medicine.utah.edu/cell.

About PolarityTE, Inc. PolarityTE, Inc. is the owner of a novel regenerative medicine and tissue engineering platform developed and patented by Denver Lough, MD, PhD. This radical and proprietary technology employs a patient's own cells for the healing of full-thickness functionally-polarized tissues. If clinically successful, the PolarityTE platform will be able to provide medical professionals with a truly new paradigm in wound healing and reconstructive surgery by utilizing a patient's own tissue substrates for the regeneration of skin, bone, muscle, cartilage, fat, blood vessels and nerves. It is because PolarityTE uses a natural and biologically sound platform technology, which is readily adaptable to a wide spectrum of organ and tissue systems, that the company and its world-renowned clinical advisory board, are poised to drastically change the field and future of translational regenerative medicine. More information can be found online at http://www.polarityte.com.

Forward Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward looking statements contained in this release relate to, among other things, the Company's ongoing compliance with the requirements of The NASDAQ Stock Market and the Company's ability to maintain the closing bid price requirements of The NASDAQ Stock Market on a post reverse split basis. They are generally identified by words such as "believes," "may," "expects," "anticipates," "should'" and similar expressions. Readers should not place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which are based upon the Company's beliefs and assumptions as of the date of this release. The Company's actual results could differ materially due to risk factors and other items described in more detail in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's Annual Reports and other filings with the SEC (copies of which may be obtained at http://www.sec.gov). Subsequent events and developments may cause these forward-looking statements to change. The Company specifically disclaims any obligation or intention to update or revise these forward-looking statements as a result of changed events or circumstances that occur after the date of this release, except as required by applicable law.

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PolarityTE(TM), Inc. Enters Formal Agreement with Cell Therapy and ... - Yahoo Finance