MTOR and liver dysplastic nodule: In conclusion, the results of this report further demonstrated that HKC at the safe and effective dose of 2 g/kg/day can alleviate the early glomerular pathological changes of the DN model rats including glomerular hypertrophy, GBM thickening and mild mesangial expansion, likely by the inhibition of Akt/mTOR/p70S6K signaling activity in vivo and in vitro.