Texas A&M University-Commerce | Department

 

Dr. Michael C. Hanna
Biological and Environmental Sciences
Texas A&M University-Commerce
P.O. Box 3011, Commerce, TX 75429
Michael_Hanna@tamu-commerce.edu
903.886.6064

Teaching

BSc 420:  Immunology
BSc 597:  Advanced Cell Biology
BSc 106:  Man and His Environment
BSc 305:  General Physiology
BSc 107:  Human Biology Structure and Function (Summer I 2009)
BSc 525:  Fundamentals of Neuroscience (Summer II 2009)

Research Interests

Hereditary spastic paraplegias (HSPs) comprise a cluster of incapacitating neurological disorders characterized predominantly by lower extremity weakness and spasticity, sometimes accompanied by dementia or other neurological impairments (reviewed in Soderblom and Blackstone, 2006).  One form of HSP, Mast syndrome (SPG21), is caused by mutation in the ACP33/maspardin gene, which encodes a protein of unknown function (Simpson et al., 2003).  While ACP33/maspardin is widely expressed in neurons and non-neuronal cells, its depletion leads to relatively specific degeneration of the distal axons in the long ascending dorsal column and descending corticospinal tracts in the spinal cord.  The mechanisms for this length-dependent distal degeneration remain unknown.  However, of the 17 identified HSP gene products, at least 11 have been implicated in mechanisms of disease pathogenesis via abnormal vesicle trafficking and endocytosis, though in most cases direct evidence is lacking (Soderblom and Blackstone, 2006).

My long-term research goal is to contribute to a better understanding of the underlying causes for neurodegenerative disorders.  My specific objectives in this project are to begin to define the normal cellular role of ACP33/maspardin, to investigate how loss of its function contributes to distal degeneration in long axons.  We hypothesize that ACP33/maspardin is required for the proper trafficking of endocytic vesicles, and that the loss of this protein in neurons alters mechanisms of endocytosis, ultimately resulting in axonal degeneration.  The rationale for these studies is that identifying ACP33/maspardin’s function will give insights into the underlying pathogenic mechanisms responsible for Mast syndrome (SPG21), thus increasing the potential for developing strategies for disease prevention or treatment.  We are especially well-prepared to undertake this project since we have already designed and created highly specific anti-ACP33/maspardin polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies.  In addition, we have successfully generated the only known ACP33/maspardin knock out mouse.

Our laboratory investigates the pathogenesis of Mast syndrome using cutting edge molecular and cellular techniques including PCR, RT-PCR, Western analysis, immunoprecipitation, pull down assays, yeast two-hybrid, confocal microscopy, heterologous and primary cell culture, gene chip and FACS analyses and behavioral paradigms

Research Publications and Presentations

Hanna, M.C. and Blackstone, C.D. (2009) Behavioral and molecular analysis of the Mast syndrome (SPG21) mouse model. (in preparation) 

Hanna MC, Blackstone C. (2009) Interaction of the SPG21 protein ACP33/maspardin with the aldehyde dehydrogenase ALDH16A1. Neurogenetics. 2009 Jan 31. (Epub ahead of print)

Hanna, M.C. and Calkins, D.J. (2007) Expression of Genes Encoding Glutamate Receptors and Transporters in Rod and Cone Bipolar Cells of the Primate Retina Determined by Single-Cell PCR.  Mol. Vis. 13: 2194-21208. 

Hanna, M.C. and Calkins, D.J. (2006) Expression and sequences of genes encoding glutamate receptors and transporters in primate retina determined using 3'-end amplification polymerase chain reaction. Mol. Vis. 12: 961-976.

Hanna, M.C., Davies, P.A., Hales, T.G., Kirkness, E.F. (2000) Evidence for expression of heteromeric serotonin 5-HT3 receptors in rodents. J. Neurochem., 75: 240-247.

Sinkkonen, S.T., Hanna, M.C., Kirkness, E.F. and Korpi, E.R. (2000) GABAA receptor e and q subunits display unusual structural variation between species and are enriched in the rat locus ceruleus. J. Neurosci, 20: 3588-3595.

Davies PA, Pistis M, Hanna, M.C., Peters, J.A., Lambert, J.J., Hales, T.G. and Kirkness, E.F. (1999) The 5-HT3B subunit is a major determinant of serotonin-receptor function. Nature, 397: 359-363.

Hanna, M.C., Turner, A.J. and Kirkness, E.F. (1997) Human pyridoxal kinase:  cDNA cloning, expression, and modulation by ligands of the benzodiazepine receptor. J. Biol. Chem., 272: 10756-10760.

Davies, P.A., Hanna, M.C., Hales, T.G. and Kirkness, E.F. (1997) Insensitivity to anesthetic agents conferred by a novel class of GABAA receptor subunit. Nature, 385: 820-823.

Hanna, MC, Platts, J.T. and Kirkness, E.F. (1997) Identification of a gene within the tandem array of red and green color pigment genes. Genomics, 43: 384-386. 

CJ Bult, O White, GJ Olsen, L Zhou, RD Fleischmann, GG Sutton, JA Blake, LM FitzGerald, RA Clayton, JD Gocayne, AR Kerlavage, BA Dougherty, JF Tomb, MD Adams, CI Reich, R Overbeek, EF Kirkness, KG Weinstock, JM Merrick, A Glodek, JL Scott, NSM Geoghagen, JF Weidman, JL Fuhrmann, D Nguyen, TR Utterback, JM Kelley, JD Peterson, PW Sadow, MC Hanna, MD Cotton, KM Roberts, MA Hurst, BP Kaine, M Borodovsky, HP Klenk, CM Fraser, HO Smith, CR Woese, and JC Venter (1996) Complete genome sequence of the methanogenic archaeon, Methanococcus jannaschii. Science, 273: 1058-1073.

Fleischmann RD, Adams MD, White O, Clayton RA, Kirkness EF, Kerlavage AR, Bult CJ, Tomb JF, Dougherty BA, Merrick JM, McKenney K, Sutton G, FitzHugh W, Fields C, Gocayne JD, Scott J, Shirley R, Liu LI, Glodek A, Kelley JM, Weidman JF, Phillips CA, Spriggs T, Hedblom E, Cotton MD, Utterback TR, Hanna MC, Nguyen DT, Saudek DM, Brandon RC, Fine LD, Fritchman JL, Fuhrmann JL, Geoghagen NSM, Gnehm CL, McDonald LA, Small KV, Fraser CM, Smith HO, and Venter JC (1995) Whole-genome shotgun sequencing and assembly of Haemophilus influenzae Rd. Science, 269: 496-512. 

Adams MD, Kerlavage AR, Fleischmann RD, Fuldner RA, Bult CJ, Lee NH, Kirkness EF, Weinstock KG, Gocayne JD, White O, Sutton G, BlakeJA, Brandon RC Chiu MW, Clayton RA, Cline RT, Cotton MD, Earle-Hughes J, Fine LD, FitzGerald LM, FitzHugh WM, Fritchman JL, Geoghagen NSM, Glodek A, Gnehm CL, Hanna MC, Hedblom E, Hinkle PS, Kelley JM, Klimek KM, Kelly JC, Liu LI, Marmaros SM, Merrick JM, Moreno-Palanques RF, McDonald LA, Nguyen DT, Pellegrino SM, Phillips CA, Ryder SE, Scott JL, Saudek DM, Shirley R, Small KV, Spriggs TA, Utterback TR, Weidman JF, Li Y, Barthlow R, Bednarik DP, Cao L, Cepeda MA, Coleman TA, Collins EJ, Dimke D, Feng P, Ferrie A, Fischer C, Hastings GA, He WW, Hu JS, Huddleston KA, Greene JM, Gruber J, Hudson P, Kim A, Kozak DJ, Kunsch C, Hungjun J, Li H, Meissner PS, Olsen H, Raymond L, Wei YF, Wing J, Xu C, Yu GL, Ruben SM, Dillon PJ, Fannon MR, Rosen CA, Haseltine WA, Fields C, Fraser CM, Venter JC (1995) Initial assessment of human gene diversity and expression patterns based upon 52 million basepairs of cDNA sequence. Nature, 377 SUPP: 3-174.

Service

2009-Pres     Member of the Texas A&M-Commerce IBC committee

2008-Pres     Member of the Texas A&M-Commerce IACUC committee

2008-Pres     Member of the Texas A&M-Commerce Pre-medical advisory committee

2008-Pres     Member of the Texas A&M-Commerce Deparment of Biological and Environmental Sciences Graduate
                        School advisory committee

Experience

Supervisory Experience

2006-2007	Sherry Yang	NINDS/NIH High School student
2007-2008	Henri Jupille	NINDS/NIH Post-Bac Fellow
2007-2008	Michelle Felker	Marymount University Undergrad Research
2008	Sarah Yang	NINDS/NIH High School student
2008-2009	Penny Stark	Texas A&M-Commerce Undergrad Research
2008-2009	Solomon Bortey	Texas A&M-Commerce Honors Thesis
2009	Molly Jacobsen	Texas A&M-Commerce Undergrad Research
2009	Jamie Lockwood	Texas A&M-Commerce Undergrad Volunteer

     

Honors

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Committee

2009     Solomon Bortey  Texas A&M-Commerce  Advisor

2009     Bradley McNeil    Texas A&M-Commerce 

Graduate Honors Thesis Committee

2009      Emmanuel Williams Texas A&M-Commerce

2009      Yanli  Liu Texas A&M-Commerce

Honors& Funding 

1999 The Merritt and Majorie Cleveland Fellowship Award for Outstanding Neuroscience Graduate Student, University of Rochester

1999-2000 NIH Student Training Grant Award: Interdepartmental Neuroscience Training – T32NS074891999, University of Rochester 

2000-2001   Center for Visual Science Training Grant Award, University of Rochester

2001 The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology/ Retina Research Foundation/ Lawrence Travel Fellowship Grant, University of Rochester

2001-2002   Center for Visual Science Training Grant Award, University of Rochester

2003 Intramural Research Training Award (IRTA), NINDS, National Institutes of Health

2004-2007 Pharmacology Research Associate Training Research (PRAT) Award, NIGMS, National Institutes of Health

2008 Texas A&M University-Commerce Office of Graduate Studies and Research Mini-grant Program

2009 Texas A&M University-Commerce Annual Research Symposium, 1st Place Faculty Division

Contact Info