The immortal cells of Henrietta Lacks - Robin Bulleri

譯者: Ann Chen 審譯者: Max Chern

Imagine something small enough to float on a particle of dust

想像一個小到可以附在 一粒灰塵上漂浮的東西

that holds the keys to understanding cancer, virology, and genetics.

而它對瞭解癌症、病毒學、 遺傳學至關重要

Luckily for us,

我們很幸運地有

such a thing exists in the form of trillions upon trillions

這樣數以百萬兆計

of human lab-grown cells called HeLa.

實驗室培養的人類細胞， 稱為「海拉細胞」

Let's take a step back for a second.

讓我們先退一步說點別的

Scientists grow human cells in the lab to study how they function,

科學家在實驗室培養人類細胞， 以研究它們是如何運作

understand how diseases develop,

瞭解疾病如何發展

and test new treatments without endangering patients.

及在不危害病人之下， 測試新的治療法

To make sure that they can repeat these experiments over and over,

為了確定他們能反覆再三 重覆做這些實驗

and compare the results with other scientists,

並能將實驗結果 和其他科學家的做比較

they need huge populations of identical cells

他們需要極大量相同的細胞

that can duplicate themselves faithfully for years,

可經年累月 準確無誤地複製自己

but until 1951, all human cell lines that researchers tried to grow

但在 1951 年以前，所有研究者 試圖培育的人類細胞株

had died after a few days.

都在培育幾天後就死亡

Then a John Hopkins scientist named George Gey

後來，一位約翰．霍普金斯大學 的科學家，名叫喬治·蓋依

received a sample of a strange looking tumor:

收到一個看起來很奇怪的腫瘤樣本：

dark purple, shiny, jelly-like.

深紫色、有光澤、膠質狀

This sample was special.

這樣本很特殊

Some of its cells just kept dividing,

其中一些細胞就是不斷分裂、

and dividing,

分裂、

and dividing.

再分裂

When individual cells died,

當有個別細胞死亡

generations of copies took their place and thrived.

經複製的後代細胞 會取而代之且茁壯成長

The result was an endless source of identical cells that's still around today.

至今同一個細胞仍源源不絕

The very first immortal human cell line.

它們是第一個永生的人類細胞株

Gey labeled it "HeLa" after the patient with the unusual tumor, Henrietta Lacks.

蓋伊將它標名為「海拉細胞」， 以這奇特腫瘤患者海莉耶塔·拉克斯為名

Born on a tobacco farm in Virginia,

她生於維吉尼亞州的一個煙草農場

she lived in Baltimore with her husband and five children.

後來與先生及五個孩子住在巴爾的摩市

She died of aggressive cervical cancer

因「侵入性子宮頸癌」而病逝

a few months after her tumorous cells were harvested,

就在她的腫瘤細胞 被切下取出之後的幾個月

and she never knew about them.

而她對此事完全不知情

So what's so special about the cells from Henrietta Lacks

到底海拉細胞有什麼特殊的地方

that lets them survive when other cell lines die?

讓它們能長久存活， 而其他細胞株卻死亡？

The short answer is we don't entirely know.

簡單回答就是：我們完全不知道

Normal human cells have built-in control mechanisms.

正常的人類細胞有 與生俱來的控制機轉

They can divide about 50 times before they self destruct

它們可分裂五十次左右， 而後自我毀滅

in a process called apoptosis.

這程序稱為「細胞凋亡」

This prevents the propagation of genetic errors

這防止了基因錯誤的遺傳

that creep in after repeated rounds of division.

基因錯誤在反覆分裂時 會悄悄地發生

But cancer cells ignore these signals, dividing indefinitely

但癌細胞無視於控制機轉訊號， 無限制地分裂

and crowding out normal cells.

並排擠正常細胞

Still, most cell lines eventually die off, especially outside the human body.

大部份細胞株最終仍然會死亡， 尤其是在人體外

Not HeLa, though, and that's the part we can't yet explain.

但是海拉細胞不會， 這部份是我們尚無法解釋的

Regardless, when Dr. Gey realized he had the first immortal line of human cells,

無論如何，蓋伊博士知道 他有第一個永生的人類細胞株

he sent samples to labs all over the world.

他分送樣本到世界各地的實驗室

Soon the world's first cell production facility

很快地，世界第一間細胞製造廠

was churning out 6 trillion HeLa cells a week,

在一週內就大量製造了 6 兆海拉細胞

and scientists put them to work in an ethically problematic way,

科學家在有倫理問題的情況下， 將它用於實驗研究

building careers and fortunes off of Henrietta's cells

利用海莉耶塔的細胞 建立事業與賺取財富

without her or her family's consent, or even knowledge until decades later.

未曾徵得她或她家人的同意， 甚至數十年後才告知她家人

The polio epidemic was at its peak in the early 50s.

小兒麻痺大流行於 五十年代初期達到巔峰

HeLa cells, which easily took up and replicated the virus,

海拉細胞很容易接納這種病毒 且複製它們

allowed Jonas Salk to test his vaccine.

讓約納斯·沙克得以實驗他的疫苗

They've been used to study diseases,

海拉細胞被用以研究多種疾病

including measles,

包括：麻疹、

mumps,

腮腺炎、

HIV,

愛滋病 、

and ebola.

伊波拉出血熱

We know that human cells have 46 chromosomes

我們知道人類細胞有 46 個染色體

because a scientist working with HeLa discovered a chemcial

是因一位科學家用海拉細胞作實驗時， 發現一種化學物質

that makes chromosomes visible.

這物質讓染色體可以被看到

HeLa cells themselves actually have around 80 highly mutated chromosomes.

其實海拉細胞本身大約有 80 個高度突變的染色體

HeLa cells were the first to be cloned.

海拉細胞是第一個被複製的細胞

They've traveled to outer space.

它們曾被送到外太空去

Telomerase,

端粒酶

an enzyme that helps cancer cells evade destruction by repairing their DNA,

是一種酶，能幫助癌細胞逃避 DNA 在基因修復時的殺害

was discovered first in HeLa cells.

這酶最早是在海拉細胞內發現的

In an interesting turn of fate,

一個有趣的命運逆轉

thanks to HeLa, we know that cervical cancer can be caused by a virus called HPV

多虧海拉細胞，我們知道了子宮頸癌 可以因「人類乳突病毒」所導致

and now there's a vaccine.

現在已有疫苗

HeLa-fueled discoveries have filled thousands of scientific papers,

在海拉細胞激勵下的新發明， 己有多達數千篇的科學論文

and that number is probably even higher than anyone knows.

而實際數目可能超過任何人可想像的

HeLa cells are so resilient that they can travel on almost any surface:

海拉細胞適應力極強，它們 幾乎可以在任何表面被運送：

a lab worker's hand,

實驗工作人員的手、

a piece of dust,

一粒灰塵

invading cultures of other cells and taking over like weeds,

入侵到其他細胞的培養物 並取而代之，就像雜草一樣

countless cures, patents and discoveries all made thanks to Henrieta Lacks.

無數的療法、專利及發明的產生 都要感謝海莉耶塔．拉克斯

翻譯： Ann Chen