Since white blood cells play causal roles in the development of diabetic retinopathy [5,6], the present study investigates MyD88-dependent processes (involving TLR2/TLR4 and IL-1ß) in leukocytes from diabetic mice, and how these changes affect leukocyte-endothelial interactions in the retina in diabetes. The gene discussed is MYD88; the disease is diabetic retinopathy.