“HEK 293 cells were generated in 1973 by transfection of cultures of normal human embryonic kidney cells with sheared adenovirus 5 DNA in Alex van der Eb’s laboratory in Leiden, the Netherlands.”
“They are called HEK since they originated in human embryonic kidney cultures, while the number 293 came from Graham’s habit of numbering his experiments; the original HEK 293 cell clone was from his 293rd experiment.”
“A comprehensive study of the genomes and transcriptomes of HEK 293 and five derivative cell lines compared the HEK 293 transcriptome with that of human kidney, adrenal, pituitary and central nervous tissue. The HEK 293 pattern most closely resembled that of adrenal cells, which have many neuronal properties. Given the location of the adrenal gland (adrenal means “next to the kidney”), a few adrenal cells could plausibly have appeared in an embryonic kidney derived culture, and could be preferentially transformed by adenovirus. Adenoviruses transform neuronal lineage cells much more efficiently than typical human kidney epithelial cells. An embryonic adrenal precursor cell therefore seems the most likely origin cell of the HEK 293 line.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HEK_293_cells
Perhaps vaccine makers should try to develop a new cell line from miscarriage adrenal tissue.