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            <front>

                <journal-meta>
                                                                <journal-id>duzce med j</journal-id>
            <journal-title-group>
                                                                                    <journal-title>Duzce Medical Journal</journal-title>
            </journal-title-group>
                                        <issn pub-type="epub">1307-671X</issn>
                                                                                            <publisher>
                    <publisher-name>Duzce University</publisher-name>
                </publisher>
                    </journal-meta>
                <article-meta>
                                        <article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.18678/dtfd.1795229</article-id>
                                                                <article-categories>
                                            <subj-group  xml:lang="en">
                                                            <subject>Urology</subject>
                                                    </subj-group>
                                            <subj-group  xml:lang="tr">
                                                            <subject>Üroloji</subject>
                                                    </subj-group>
                                    </article-categories>
                                                                                                                                                        <title-group>
                                                                                                                                                            <article-title>Selective ROCK2 Upregulation in Congenital Penile Curvature: A Molecular Signature Distinguishing Developmental from Acquired Penile Pathologies</article-title>
                                                                                                    </title-group>
            
                                                    <contrib-group content-type="authors">
                                                                        <contrib contrib-type="author">
                                                                    <contrib-id contrib-id-type="orcid">
                                        https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5200-698X</contrib-id>
                                                                <name>
                                    <surname>Sesli</surname>
                                    <given-names>Mustafa</given-names>
                                </name>
                                                                    <aff>MERSIN UNIVERSITY, SCHOOL OF MEDICINE</aff>
                                                            </contrib>
                                                    <contrib contrib-type="author">
                                                                    <contrib-id contrib-id-type="orcid">
                                        https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4784-2208</contrib-id>
                                                                <name>
                                    <surname>Çayan</surname>
                                    <given-names>Selahittin</given-names>
                                </name>
                                                                    <aff>MERSIN UNIVERSITY, SCHOOL OF MEDICINE</aff>
                                                            </contrib>
                                                    <contrib contrib-type="author">
                                                                    <contrib-id contrib-id-type="orcid">
                                        https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7094-7625</contrib-id>
                                                                <name>
                                    <surname>Derici Eker</surname>
                                    <given-names>Ebru</given-names>
                                </name>
                                                                    <aff>MERSIN UNIVERSITY, FACULTY OF PHARMACY</aff>
                                                            </contrib>
                                                    <contrib contrib-type="author">
                                                                    <contrib-id contrib-id-type="orcid">
                                        https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9873-4920</contrib-id>
                                                                <name>
                                    <surname>Başaranoğlu</surname>
                                    <given-names>Mert</given-names>
                                </name>
                                                                    <aff>MERSIN UNIVERSITY, SCHOOL OF MEDICINE</aff>
                                                            </contrib>
                                                    <contrib contrib-type="author">
                                                                    <contrib-id contrib-id-type="orcid">
                                        https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4117-6013</contrib-id>
                                                                <name>
                                    <surname>Büyükafşar</surname>
                                    <given-names>Kansu</given-names>
                                </name>
                                                                    <aff>MERSIN UNIVERSITY, SCHOOL OF MEDICINE</aff>
                                                            </contrib>
                                                    <contrib contrib-type="author">
                                                                    <contrib-id contrib-id-type="orcid">
                                        https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7669-414X</contrib-id>
                                                                <name>
                                    <surname>Akbay</surname>
                                    <given-names>Erdem</given-names>
                                </name>
                                                                    <aff>MERSIN UNIVERSITY, SCHOOL OF MEDICINE</aff>
                                                            </contrib>
                                                                                </contrib-group>
                        
                                        <pub-date pub-type="pub" iso-8601-date="20260425">
                    <day>04</day>
                    <month>25</month>
                    <year>2026</year>
                </pub-date>
                                        <volume>28</volume>
                                        <issue>1</issue>
                                        <fpage>64</fpage>
                                        <lpage>70</lpage>
                        
                        <history>
                                    <date date-type="received" iso-8601-date="20251001">
                        <day>10</day>
                        <month>01</month>
                        <year>2025</year>
                    </date>
                                                    <date date-type="accepted" iso-8601-date="20260413">
                        <day>04</day>
                        <month>13</month>
                        <year>2026</year>
                    </date>
                            </history>
                                        <permissions>
                    <copyright-statement>Copyright © 1999, Duzce Medical Journal</copyright-statement>
                    <copyright-year>1999</copyright-year>
                    <copyright-holder>Duzce Medical Journal</copyright-holder>
                </permissions>
            
                                                                                                                        <abstract><p>Aim: To investigate whether RhoA/ROCK pathway genes (RHOA, ROCK1, ROCK2) are differentially expressed in tunica albuginea of patients with congenital penile curvature (CPC) relative to Peyronie&#039;s disease (PD) and erectile dysfunction (ED), and to determine whether any differential expression is independent of clinical confounders. Material and Methods: This study enrolled 52 patients across three groups, as CPC (n=15), PD (n=15), and ED requiring penile prosthesis implantation (n=22). Tunica albuginea biopsies were obtained intraoperatively at standardised sites. RHOA, ROCK1, and ROCK2 mRNA levels were quantified by real-time qPCR using the 2-ΔΔCt method, normalised to GAPDH. Confounder adjustment was performed by multivariable linear regression and 1:2 nearestneighbour propensity score matching. Results: ROCK2 mRNA was elevated in CPC compared with PD (fold change, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.12-1.44; p=0.016) and ED (fold change, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.05-1.37; p=0.037). Neither RHOA nor ROCK1 differed significantly across groups. CPC group membership independently predicted higher ROCK2 in multivariable regression (β=0.189; 95% CI, 0.048-0.330; p=0.009) and in propensity score matched groups (mean difference, 0.21; 95% CI, 0.06-0.36; p=0.008). ROCK2 expression correlated positively with curvature severity (r=0.58; p=0.020). Conclusion: Selective ROCK2 upregulation distinguishes CPC from acquired penile conditions and is independent of age, BMI, and comorbidity burden. These findings suggest a developmental molecular mechanism distinct from fibrotic remodelling. Validation in larger multicentre cohorts with protein-level confirmation is required before clinical application.</p></abstract>
                                                            
            
                                                                                        <kwd-group>
                                                    <kwd>Congenital penile curvature</kwd>
                                                    <kwd>  ROCK2</kwd>
                                                    <kwd>  Rho-associated kinase</kwd>
                                                    <kwd>  Peyronie&#039;s
disease</kwd>
                                                    <kwd>  RhoA signaling</kwd>
                                                    <kwd>  developmental anomaly</kwd>
                                                    <kwd>  tunica albuginea; gene expression</kwd>
                                            </kwd-group>
                            
                                                                                                                                                    </article-meta>
    </front>
    <back>
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