C. Dirk Keene

Ph.D. 2003

Thesis Title:

Experimental Huntington's Disease - Neuroprotective Effects of Tauroursodeoxycholic Acid and 1H NMR Spectroscopic Characterization

Current Position:

Associate Professor, Nancy & Buster Alvord Endowed Chair in Neuropathology, Director of the Neuropathology Fellowship Program, Divison of Neuropathology, Department of Pathology
University of Washington, WA

Major Advisor:

Walter Low, Ph.D.

Selected Publications:

  • Smith BR, Nelson KM, Kemper LJ, Leinonen-Wright K, Petersen A, Keene CD, Ashe KH. A soluble tau fragment generated by caspase-2 is associated with dementia in Lewy body disease. Acta Neuropathol Commun. 2019 Jul 30;7(1):124.
  • Nikas JB, Tkac I, Keene CD, Gruetter R, Dubinsky JM, Low WC. Comparison of analytical mathematical approaches for identifying key magnetic resonance spectroscopy biomarkers in the diagnosis and assessment of clinical change of diseases.  J. Comp Neurol.  2010;518:4091-4112.
  • Tkac I, Dubinsky JM, Keene CD, Gruetter R, Low WC. Neurochemical changes in Huntington R6/2 mouse striatum detected by in vivo 1H NMR spectroscopy. J Neurochem. 2007;100:1397-406.
  • Burns TC, Ortiz-González XR, Gutiérrez-Pérez M, Keene CD, Sharda R, Demorest ZL, Jiang Y, Nelson-Holte M, Soriano M, Nakagawa Y, Luquin MR, Garcia-Verdugo JM, Prósper F, Low WC, Verfaillie CM. Thymidine analogs are transferred from prelabeled donor to host cells in the central nervous system after transplantation: a word of caution. Stem Cells. 2006;24(4):1121-7. E
  • Brustovetsky N, LaFrance R, Purl KJ, Brustovetsky T, Keene CD, Low WC, Dubinsky JM. Age-dependent changes in the calcium sensitivity of striatal mitochondria in mouse models of Huntington's Disease. J Neurochem. 2005;93(6):1361-70.
  • Tkác I, Henry PG, Andersen P, Keene CD, Low WC, Gruetter R. Highly resolved in vivo 1H NMR spectroscopy of the mouse brain at 9.4 T. Magn Reson Med. 2004;52(3):478-84.
  • Ortiz-Gonzalez XR, Keene CD, Verfaillie CM, Low WC. Neural induction of adult bone marrow and umbilical cord stem cells. Curr Neurovasc Res. 2004 Jul;1(3):207-13.
  • Keene CD, Ortiz-Gonzalez XR, Jiang Y, Largaespada DA, Verfaillie CM, Low WC. Neural differentiation and incorporation of bone marrow-derived multipotent adult progenitor cells after single cell transplantation into blastocyst stage mouse embryos. Cell Transplant. 2003;12(3):201-213.
  • Keene CD, Rodrigues CM, Eich T, Chhabra MS, Steer CJ, Low WC. Tauroursodeoxycholic acid, a bile acid, is neuroprotective in a transgenic animal model of Huntington's disease. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2002;99(16):10671-6.
  • Jiang Y, Jahagirdar BN, Reinhardt RL, Schwartz RE, Keene CD, Ortiz-Gonzalez XR, Reyes M, Lenvik T, Lund T, Blackstad M, Du J, Aldrich S, Lisberg A, Low WC, Largaespada DA, Verfaillie CM. Pluripotency of mesenchymal stem cells derived from adult marrow. Nature. 2002;418(6893):41-9.
  • Zhao LR, Duan WM, Reyes M, Keene CD, Verfaillie CM, Low WC. Human bone marrow stem cells exhibit neural phenotypes and ameliorate neurological deficits after grafting into the ischemic brain of rats. Exp Neurol. 2002;174(1):11-20.
  • Tkác I, Keene CD, Pfeuffer J, Low WC, Gruetter R. Metabolic changes in quinolinic acid-lesioned rat striatum detected non-invasively by in vivo (1)H NMR spectroscopy. J Neurosci Res. 2001;66:891-8.
  • Keene CD, Rodrigues CM, Eich T, Linehan-Stieers C, Abt A, Kren BT, Steer CJ, Low WC. A bile acid protects against motor and cognitive deficits and reduces striatal degeneration in the 3-nitropropionic acid model of Huntington's disease. Exp Neurol. 2001;171(2):351-60.
  • Rodrigues CM, Stieers CL, Keene CD, Ma X, Kren BT, Low WC, Steer CJ. Tauroursodeoxycholic acid partially prevents apoptosis induced by 3-nitropropionic acid: evidence for a mitochondrial pathway independent of the permeability transition. J Neurochem. 2000;75(6):2368-79.
C. Dirk Keene