Department of biochemistry and Molecular biology
Hiroko Hama
Hiroko Hama, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
2001-2009 Assistant Professor, Dept of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, MUSC
1998-2001 Research Assistant Professor, Utah State University
1995-1997 Assistant Instructor, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
1993-1995 Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California San Diego
1991-1993 Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard Medical School
Education
1990 Ph.D., Okayama University, Okayama, Japan
Contact Info
Email: hama@musc.edu
Office: 843-792-6949
Lab: 843-792-8906
Fax: 843-792-8568
BSB-518C
Research Interests
The research in our laboratory focuses on a class of sphingolipids containing 2-hydroxy fatty acids (hFA-sphingolipids). hFA-sphingolipids are uniquely abundant in myelin in the mammalian nervous system. The enzyme fatty acid 2-hydroxylase (FA2H) is responsible for the biosynthesis of myelin hFA-sphingolipids. Mutations in the FA2H gene cause leukodystrophy (progressive degeneration of the white matter of the brain) in children. We have developed Fa2h knockout mice as a model of the human FA2H deficiency. We are using this mouse model to develop therapeutics for the leukodystrophy. Additional projects are aimed at elucidating the mechanism of how FA2H and hFA-sphingolipids are involved in myelination, glial cell signaling, and cell differentiation.
Recent Publications | Additional Publications
Kota, V., Szulc, Z., and Hama, H. (2012) Identification of C6-ceramide-interacting proteins in D6P2T Schwannoma cells. Proteomics 12, 2179-84.
Dan, P., Edvardson, S., Bielawski, J., Hama, H., and Saada, A. (2011) 2-Hydroxylated sphingomyelin profiles in cells from patients with mutated fatty acid 2-hydroxylase. Lipids in Health and Disease, 10:84.
Potter, K.A., Kern, M.J., Fullbright, G., Bielawski, J., Scherer, S.S., Yum, S., Li, J., Cheng, H., Han, X., Kummetha-Venkata, J., Khan Pathan, A.A., Rohrer, B., Hama, H. (2011) Central nervous system dysfunction in a mouse model of FA2H deficiency. Glia, 59(7):1009-21.
Kruer, M.C., Paisán-Ruiz, C., Boddaert, N., Yoon, M.Y., Hama, H., Gregory, A., Malandrini, A., Woltjer, R.L., Munnich, A., Polster, B.J., Palmeri, A., Edvardson, S., Hardy, J., Houlden, H.H., and Hayflick, S.J. (2010) Defective FA2H leads to a novel form of neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation (NBIA). Ann. Neurol. 68:611-8.
Hama, H. (2010) Fatty acid 2-hydroxylation in mammalian sphingolipid biology. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1801, 405-414.
Alderson, N.L. and Hama, H. (2009) Fatty acid 2-hydroxylase regulates cAMP-induced cell cycle exit in D6P2T Schwannoma cells. J. Lipid Res. 50, 1203-1208.
Edvardson, S., Hama, H., Shaag, A., Gomori, J.M., Berger, I., Soffer, D., Korman, S.H., Taustein, I., Saada, A., and Elpeleg, O. (2008) Mutations in the fatty acid 2-hydroxylase gene are associated with leukodystrophy with spastic paraparesis and dystonia. Am. J. Hum. Genet. 83, 643-648.
Ponnusamy, S., Alderson, N.L., Hama, H., Bielawski, J., Jiang, J.C., Bhandari, R., Snyder, S.H., Jazwinski, M., and Ogretmen, B. (2008) Regulation of telomere length by fatty acid elongase 3 in yeast: Involvement of inositol phosphate metabolism and ku70/80 function. J. Biol. Chem. 283: 27514-24.