Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) convey the major output of information collected from the eye to the brain. RGCs are irreversibly lost when injured in degenerative diseases such as glaucoma; this failure can be partially reversed by eliminating the retinal mobile zinc (Zn2+) and leads to substantial axon regeneration. ZnT3 conditional knockout in retinal amacrine cells blocks the synaptic transport of Zn2+, which promotes RGC survival and axonal regeneration in optic nerve jinjury (ONC). Here, we conducted an mRNA sequencing of flow cytometry-isolated RGCs 3 days after optic nerve injury with or without ZnT3 expression in retinal amacrine cells. Overall design: Ctrl: RGCs isolated from normal intact wild type retinas ONC: RGCs isolated from optic nerve crush wild type retinas CKO: RGCs isolated from optic nerve crush retinas with ZnT3 conditional knockout in amacrine cells