SLC5A2 and diabetic kidney disease: Besides, Cassis et al. (2018) reported that podocytes express SGLT2 and upregulate it in response to albumin injection, and SGLT2 inhibitors directly limit podocyte damage in proteinuric nephropathy, indicating that SGLT2 inhibitors might directly improve the autophagic deficiency in podocytes, like in proximal tubular cells, of DKD.