AKT1 and infection: However, the critical differences in the current studies are that Akt overexpression (i) leads to the overproduction of NO even in the absence of infection and (ii) represses cellular mitophagy, which would normally occur in response to infection-associated oxidative/nitrative stress, resulting in much more efficient parasite killing at a cost of both local and systemic energy synthesis and renewal/repair of the midgut epithelium that are essential for host survival following infection.