AKT1 and age-related macular degeneration: Therefore, the addition of IGF-1, expected to suppress autophagy through activation of the AKT/mTOR signaling in normal cells, did not seem to decrease the ratio of LC3-II/LC3-I in AMD RPE (Figures 5c and d), as shown by the densitometry of western blots of three independent experiments (Figures 5b–d).