Can SGLT2 Inhibitor be Used for Diabetes Mellitus or Vascular Diseases?

[See article vol. 27: 1141-1151] Recently, antidiabetic agents have been evaluated as vascular protective agents. Newly identified antidiabetic agents such as glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors have been studied for their efficacy and safety for cardiovascular events (CVE), and our previous basic experiments revealed some of their mechanisms. Among antidiabetic agents, sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor is the most attractive drug and the focus of attention because of its CVE-reducing effects in large-scale clinical trials. In fact, the SGLT2 inhibitor canagliflozin has demonstrated CVE-reducing effects in the CANVAS program. In the present study, Rahadian et al. investigated a mechanism by which canagliflozin attenuates atherosclerosis and CVE mainly using diabetic and atherogenic mouse model. Atheroma formation in the aortic arch was significantly decreased by orally administered canagliflozin.