This finding is consistent with the previous reports by Ikeda et al. (2011), in which aberrant activation of the Akt–mTOR signalling pathway in lung epithelium causes infant respiratory distress syndrome, and by Miakotina et al. (2002), in which the rapamycin-sensitive phosphoinositide 3-kinase–S6K1 signalling pathway is demonstrated to mediate insulin-induced inhibition of SP A mRNA levels in lung epithelial cells. Here, INS is linked to newborn respiratory distress syndrome.