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Response to Comment on: Heme reduces corpus cavernosum smooth muscle contraction via the HO-CO-sGC-cGMP pathway: implications for priapism in sickle cell disease

International Journal of Impotence Research (2025)Cite this article

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We appreciate the constructive comments provided by Drs. Fernanda Priviero and R. Clinton Webb regarding our study “Heme reduces corpus cavernosum smooth muscle contraction via the HO–CO–sGC–cGMP pathway: implications for priapism in sickle cell disease” [1, 2]. Their insightful perspective highlights important considerations that further contextualize our findings and suggest valuable directions for future investigation.

We are pleased that our study was recognized as providing novel mechanistic insight into how excess extracellular heme modulates cavernosal smooth muscle contractility through the HO–CO–sGC–cGMP signaling cascade. We agree with the authors that this pathway represents an underexplored yet crucial component of the pathophysiology of recurrent ischemic priapism (RIP) in sickle cell disease (SCD). Below, we address the main points raised in their thoughtful commentary.

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References

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Dalila Andrade Pereira, Fábio Henrique Silva.

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  1. Laboratory of Pharmacology, São Francisco University Medical School, Bragança Paulista, SP, Brazil

    Dalila Andrade Pereira & Fábio Henrique Silva

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  1. Dalila Andrade Pereira
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  2. Fábio Henrique Silva
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Correspondence to Fábio Henrique Silva.

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Pereira, D.A., Silva, F.H. Response to Comment on: Heme reduces corpus cavernosum smooth muscle contraction via the HO-CO-sGC-cGMP pathway: implications for priapism in sickle cell disease. Int J Impot Res (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41443-025-01224-1

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