We then showed also that, in conjunction with this AAb response, in Mertk-deficient mice there is abundant intraretinal accumulation of large clumps of strongly citrullinated peptides (Hollingsworth et al., 2015; Iannaccone and Radic, 2019), a biochemical reaction that is well known from the rheumatoid arthritis world to be strongly immunogenic and proinflammatory (Iannaccone and Radic, 2019). This evidence concerns the gene MERTK and rheumatoid arthritis.