Cardiology

Geoffrey Stuart Pitt, MD

Adjunct Professor in the Department of Medicine
Faculty Network Member of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences
Campus mail 515 E. 79th Street, Pha, New York, NY 10075
Phone (919) 257-1589
Email address geoffrey.pitt@duke.edu

Our research focuses on how intracellular Ca2+, the ultimate signal of membrane excitability, regulates membrane excitability and the consequent function of excitable cells. We have discovered and described multiple mechanisms that control Ca2+ influx through voltage-gated Ca2+ channels and feedback mechanisms by which internal calcium regulates other channels that influence Ca2+ channel function. The work has entailed structure-function analyses of ion channels and their regulatory subunits and studies of mutations that lead to inherited channelopathies such as cardiac arrhythmias and epilepsy.

Education and Training

  • Fellow in Cardiovascular Medicine, Medicine, Stanford University, 1995 - 1999
  • Medical Resident, Medicine, Stanford University, 1993 - 1995
  • M.D., Johns Hopkins University, 1993

Grants

Publications

Kim, J, Ghosh, S, Liu, H, Tateyama, M, Kass, RS, and Pitt, GS. "Calmodulin mediates Ca2+ sensitivity of sodium channels." J Biol Chem 279, no. 43 (October 22, 2004): 45004-45012.

PMID
15316014
Full Text

McGee, AW, Nunziato, DA, Maltez, JM, Prehoda, KE, Pitt, GS, and Bredt, DS. "Calcium channel function regulated by the SH3-GK module in beta subunits." Neuron 42, no. 1 (April 8, 2004): 89-99.

PMID
15066267
Scholars@Duke

Kim, J, Ghosh, S, Nunziato, DA, and Pitt, GS. "Identification of the components controlling inactivation of voltage-gated Ca2+ channels." Neuron 41, no. 5 (March 4, 2004): 745-754.

PMID
15003174
Scholars@Duke

Pitt, GS, Zühlke, RD, Hudmon, A, Schulman, H, Reuter, H, and Tsien, RW. "Molecular basis of calmodulin tethering and Ca2+-dependent inactivation of L-type Ca2+ channels." J Biol Chem 276, no. 33 (August 17, 2001): 30794-30802.

PMID
11408490
Full Text

Pitt, GS, Zühlke, RD, Hudmon, A, Schulman, H, Reuter, H, and Tsien, RW. "Erratum: Molecular basis of calmodulin tethering and Ca 2+-dependent inactivation of L-type Ca2+ channels (Journal of Biological Chemistry (2001) 276 (30794-30802))." Journal of Biological Chemistry 276, no. 39 (2001): 36862--.

Scholars@Duke

Zühlke, RD, Pitt, GS, Tsien, RW, and Reuter, H. "Ca2+-sensitive inactivation and facilitation of L-type Ca2+ channels both depend on specific amino acid residues in a consensus calmodulin-binding motif in the(alpha)1C subunit." J Biol Chem 275, no. 28 (July 14, 2000): 21121-21129.

PMID
10779517
Full Text

Zühlke, RD, Pitt, GS, Deisseroth, K, Tsien, RW, and Reuter, H. "Calmodulin supports both inactivation and facilitation of L-type calcium channels." Nature 399, no. 6732 (May 13, 1999): 159-162.

PMID
10335846
Full Text

Mann, SKO, Brown, JM, Briscoe, C, Parent, C, Pitt, G, Devreotes, PN, and Firtel, RA. "Role of cAMP-dependent protein kinase in controlling aggregation and postaggregative development in dictyostelium." Developmental Biology 183, no. 2 (1997): 208-221.

PMID
9126295
Full Text

van Es, S, Virdy, KJ, Pitt, GS, Meima, M, Sands, TW, Devreotes, PN, Cotter, DA, and Schaap, P. "Adenylyl cyclase G, an osmosensor controlling germination of Dictyostelium spores." J Biol Chem 271, no. 39 (September 27, 1996): 23623-23625.

PMID
8798577
Scholars@Duke

Pitt, GS, Brandt, R, Lin, KC, Devreotes, PN, and Schaap, P. "Extracellular cAMP is sufficient to restore developmental gene expression and morphogenesis in Dictyostelium cells lacking the aggregation adenylyl cyclase (ACA)." Genes Dev 7, no. 11 (November 1993): 2172-2180.

PMID
8224844
Scholars@Duke

Pages