Figure 1.

Administration of gentisic acid (GA) increases cholesterol synthesis and accelerates RGC maturation and synaptic plasticity in retinal organoids: (A) Retinal organoid production and treatment timeline with GA application on days 50–60; (B) Progression of growth from iPSC to retinal organoids; (C) RT-PCR analysis reveals significantly increased expression of cholesterol synthesis-related markers (HMGCS1, SQS), synaptic plasticity-related proteins (SV2C, PSD95, GLAST, and TUJ1), and ABCA1 in GA-treated retinal organoids when compared to conventionally grown retinal organoids. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, and *** p < 0.001 (D) Representative, confirmatory immunofluorescence images show increased expression of a synaptic plasticity-related marker (PSD95) and a more matured organization of Brn3a-GFP⁺RGC after GA supplementation.