Figure 1.

Workflow to assess local gene expression of putative epigenetic regulators of AIS progression. Step 1: literature search, identification of the genes of interest, and setup of the gene panel; Step 2: collection of paravertebral tissues (muscle, bone, and ligament) and peripheral blood from donors undergoing spine surgery; Step 3: total RNA extraction, total DNA extraction, and histological characterization of each sample; Step 4: array-based gene expression analysis; Step 5: data analysis and identification of suggestive markers; Step 6: back to DNA to confirm epigenetic regulation (CpGs methylation/histone modifications).