[Science World] Why We Need to Increase 'Cell Savings'

Among life scientists, there is hardly anyone who does not know the term ‘Hela Cell Line.’ It is the name of the ‘experimental cells’ made from the tumor tissue of Henrietta Lacks, a 31-year-old Black woman who had cervical cancer. These cells have been used in countless scientific studies and continue to be used today. Two Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine have been awarded thanks to them. There are over 60,000 related research papers and more than 11,000 patents.

Cells are the basic units of life. The collective term for culturing cells and using them for research is ‘cultured cells.’ A cell line refers to cells that have been properly processed to proliferate and be cultured in the laboratory. After repeated proliferation dozens of times, they are classified into two types: ‘finite cell lines,’ which are no longer suitable for experiments, and ‘immortalized cell lines,’ which can proliferate indefinitely. The Hela cell line is also an immortalized cell line.

Such cell lines are essential materials when developing anticancer drugs, cell therapies, and more. Concerns about side effects in the drug development process ultimately mean worries about abnormal cell reactions, necrosis, or mutations, and these processes are pre-tested using cell lines.

The issue is how to supply these cell lines to researchers. Researchers sometimes culture the cells they need for experiments themselves, but this is not the recommended method. If genetic modifications or contamination occur during management, the reliability of the research can be compromised. Therefore, a ‘cell bank’ that thoroughly manages cultured cells at the national level and supplies them to scientists is necessary.

Cultured cells also have great economic value. They belong to the ‘biopharmaceutical industry,’ a high value-added industry. The government should take greater interest in expanding ‘cell banks.’ Considering the scale of our economy and scientific and technological capabilities, it is quite late.

Jeon Seung-min, Science and Technology Specialist Writer