Male Sprague Dawley rats (Charles River) were used for experiments. Animal studies were performed in accordance with the guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals; all protocols were approved by the Stanford Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (Protocol #32873). The protocol used for diabetes induction using streptozotocin (STZ) was adapted from the protocol by Kenneth K. Wu and Youming Huan and was performed as previously reported.21 –22 (link), 26 –27 Briefly, Male Sprague Dawley rats 160–230 g (8–10 weeks) were weighed and fasted in the morning 6–8 hours prior to treatment with STZ (MedChemExpress). STZ was protected from light and diluted to 10 mg/mL in the sodium citrate buffer immediately before injection. STZ solution was injected intraperitoneally at 65mg/kg into each rat. Rats were provided with water containing 10% sucrose for 24 hours after injection with STZ and were given subcutaneous saline injections daily to prevent dehydration. Rat blood glucose levels were tested for hyperglycemia daily after the STZ treatment via tail vein blood collection using a handheld Bayer Contour Next glucose monitor (Bayer). Diabetes was defined as having three consecutive blood glucose measurements >400 mg/dL in non-fasted rats.