SLC5A2 and obesity due to melanocortin 4 receptor deficiency: Previous studies have also shown that treatment with empagliflozin, another SGLT2 inhibitor, for 7 or 10 weeks improved endothelial function in STZ-induced and obesity-induced diabetic animal models (22, 31), whereas, in this study, we observed improvement of endothelial function in an even shorter treatment period, suggesting the reliability and effectiveness of glucose-lowering therapy with SGLT2 inhibitors for improving endothelial function.