Cardiology

Christopher Dale Kontos, MD

Professor of Medicine
Director, Medical Scientist Training Program
Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology
Member of the Duke Cancer Institute
Campus mail 180A CARL Bldg, 213 Research Dr., Durham, NC 27710
Phone (919) 684-2119
Email address cdkontos@duke.edu

The Kontos Lab studies the molecular mechanisms of angiogenesis and vascular remodeling. Studies are directed toward understanding how signal transduction by endothelial receptor tyrosine kinase (RTKs) regulates vascular growth in both physiological and pathological processes, including exercise, peripheral artery disease (PAD), atherosclerosis, and cancer.

Current projects include:

1. Signal transduction, mechanisms of activation, and downregulation of endothelial RTKs (mainly Tie1, Tie2, VEGFR-1, and VEGFR-2)

2. Differential effects of the Angiopoietins

3. Role of the inositol phosphatase PTEN in the regulation of vascular cell growth and remodeling

4. PTEN gene therapy for prevention of vein graft disease

5. Angiogenic signaling in skeletal muscle, including mechanisms of exercise-induced angiogenesis

6. Proteolytic cleavage and shedding of endothelial RTKs

7. Angiogenic proteins as biomarkers in peripheral artery disease

Education and Training

  • Fellow in Cardiology, Medicine, Duke University, 1993 - 1997
  • M.D., Virginia Commonwealth University, 1989

Grants

Publications

Gallagher, Emily J., Don C. Rockey, Christopher D. Kontos, Jatin M. Vyas, Lawrence F. Brass, Patrick J. Hu, Carlos M. Isales, et al. “Pearls of wisdom for aspiring physician-scientist residency applicants and program directors.” Jci Insight 7, no. 6 (March 22, 2022). https://doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.158467.

PMID
35315364
Full Text

Zhang, Yu, Christopher D. Kontos, Brian H. Annex, and Aleksander S. Popel. “A systems biology model of junctional localization and downstream signaling of the Ang-Tie signaling pathway.” Npj Syst Biol Appl 7, no. 1 (August 20, 2021): 34. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41540-021-00194-6.

PMID
34417472
Full Text

Permar, Sallie R., Rebecca A. Ward, Katherine J. Barrett, Stephanie A. Freel, Rasheed A. Gbadegesin, Christopher D. Kontos, Patrick J. Hu, Katherine E. Hartmann, Christopher S. Williams, and Jatin M. Vyas. “Addressing the physician-scientist pipeline: strategies to integrate research into clinical training programs.” J Clin Invest 130, no. 3 (March 2, 2020): 1058–61. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI136181.

PMID
32039914
Full Text

Zhang, Yu, Christopher D. Kontos, Brian H. Annex, and Aleksander S. Popel. “Angiopoietin-Tie Signaling Pathway in Endothelial Cells: A Computational Model.” Iscience 20 (October 25, 2019): 497–511. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2019.10.006.

PMID
31655061
Full Text

Cheung, Joseph Y., Jennifer Gordon, JuFang Wang, Jianliang Song, Xue-Qian Zhang, Fabian Jana Prado, Santhanam Shanmughapriya, et al. “Mitochondrial dysfunction in human immunodeficiency virus-1 transgenic mouse cardiac myocytes.” J Cell Physiol 234, no. 4 (April 2019): 4432–44. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcp.27232.

PMID
30256393
Full Text

Myers, Valerie D., Glenn S. Gerhard, Dennis M. McNamara, Dhanendra Tomar, Muniswamy Madesh, Scott Kaniper, Frederick V. Ramsey, et al. “Association of Variants in BAG3 With Cardiomyopathy Outcomes in African American Individuals.” Jama Cardiol 3, no. 10 (October 1, 2018): 929–38. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamacardio.2018.2541.

PMID
30140897
Full Text

Myers, Valerie D., Dhanendra Tomar, Muniswamy Madesh, JuFang Wang, Jianliang Song, Xue-Qian Zhang, Manish K. Gupta, et al. “Haplo-insufficiency of Bcl2-associated athanogene 3 in mice results in progressive left ventricular dysfunction, β-adrenergic insensitivity, and increased apoptosis.” J Cell Physiol 233, no. 9 (September 2018): 6319–26. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcp.26482.

PMID
29323723
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Tahrir, Farzaneh G., Santhanam Shanmughapriya, Taha Mohseni Ahooyi, Tijana Knezevic, Manish K. Gupta, Christopher D. Kontos, Joseph M. McClung, et al. “Dysregulation of mitochondrial bioenergetics and quality control by HIV-1 Tat in cardiomyocytes.” J Cell Physiol 233, no. 2 (February 2018): 748–58. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcp.26002.

PMID
28493473
Full Text

Myers, Valerie D., Joseph M. McClung, JuFang Wang, Farzaneh G. Tahrir, Manish K. Gupta, Jennifer Gordon, Christopher H. Kontos, Kamel Khalili, Joseph Y. Cheung, and Arthur M. Feldman. “The Multifunctional Protein BAG3: A Novel Therapeutic Target in Cardiovascular Disease.” Jacc Basic Transl Sci 3, no. 1 (February 2018): 122–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacbts.2017.09.009.

PMID
29938246
Full Text

McClung, Joseph M., Timothy J. McCord, Terence E. Ryan, Cameron A. Schmidt, Tom D. Green, Kevin W. Southerland, Jessica L. Reinardy, et al. “BAG3 (Bcl-2-Associated Athanogene-3) Coding Variant in Mice Determines Susceptibility to Ischemic Limb Muscle Myopathy by Directing Autophagy.” Circulation 136, no. 3 (July 18, 2017): 281–96. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.116.024873.

PMID
28442482
Full Text

Pages