To investigate the effect of glucose transporter-1 (GLUT1) inhibition on diabetic retinopathy, we divided forty-eight mice into scrambled siRNA, diabetic scrambled siRNA, and GLUT1 siRNA (intravitreally injected) groups. Twenty-one weeks after diabetes induction, we calculated retinal glucose concentrations, used electroretinography (ERG) and histochemical methods to assess photoreceptor degeneration, and conducted immunoblotting, leukostasis and vascular leakage assays to estimate microangiopathy. The diabetic scrambled siRNA and GLUT1 siRNA exhibited higher glucose concentrations than scrambled siRNA, but GLUT1 siRNA group concentrations were only 50.05% of diabetic scrambled siRNA due to downregulated GLUT1 expression. The diabetic scrambled siRNA and GLUT1 siRNA had lower ERG amplitudes and ONL thicknesses than scrambled siRNA. However, compared with diabetic scrambled siRNA, GLUT1 siRNA group amplitudes and thicknesses were higher. Diabetic scrambled siRNA cones were more loosely arranged and had shorter outer segments than GLUT1 siRNA cones. ICAM-1 and TNF-α expression levels, adherent leukocyte numbers, fluorescence leakage areas and extravasated Evans blue in diabetic scrambled siRNA were higher than those in scrambled siRNA. However, these parameters in the GLUT1 siRNA were lower than diabetic scrambled siRNA. Together, these results demonstrate that GLUT1 siRNA restricted glucose transport by inhibiting GLUT1 expression, which decreased retinal glucose concentrations and ameliorated diabetic retinopathy.Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the most common complications of diabetes mellitus (DM). DR often results in decreased vision and even blindness caused by macular edema, retinal detachment, and vitreous hemorrhage. The number of patients with diabetes may grow to 642 million in 2040 1 . DR has been recognized as a microangiopathy, as well as a neurodegenerative disease. Although the detailed mechanism underlying DR is unclear, two major global multicenter studies on diabetes, DCCT 2 and UKPDS 3 , have revealed that a long-term high blood glucose level is the decisive factor for DR development. Moreover, excessive generation of retinal oxidative stress products 4 , activated protein kinase C 5 , and increased synthesis of glycosylated end products 6 under the environment of high blood glucose levels initiate the impairment of retinal tissues and cells 4 . Since lesions are induced by high blood glucose levels, we hypothesize that DR progression can be relieved by restricting glucose transfer into the retina, thereby decreasing its local glucose content. Glucose transporter-1 (GLUT1) is the only currently known carrier of glucose through the blood-retinal barrier and is also responsible for the distribution of glucose in ganglion cells, photoreceptor cells, and Müller cells in the retina; GLUT1 is primarily expressed in the vascular endothelial cells of the inner blood-retinal barrier and retinal pigment epithelial cells of the outer blood-retinal barrier 7 . GLUT1 was identified as a promising target...