AKT1 and atherosclerosis: In the current study, we hypothesized that: (1) rTM is an autophagy inhibitor by activating PI3K/AKT/mTOR complex 1 signaling pathway; (2) rTM suppresses stress-induced autophagy overactivation in ECs to provide ECs protective effects; and (3) rTM treatment may suppress overactivated autophagy in ECs during the process of atherosclerosis formation and decrease atherosclerosis severity in animal atherosclerosis model.