STAT3 and diabetic retinopathy: Early injury phase immune response genes included stat1a, stat3 and cd40. Stat1 and Stat3 play roles in facilitating RGC survival after injury and during axon regeneration in mice [88,97,98], while stat1a and CD40 both play roles in Muller glia after retinal injury or during the progression of diabetic retinopathy, respectively, where they are thought modulate inflammatory responses of microglia and macrophages in response to injury [99,100].