Immunohistochemistry staining results indicated that the protein expression of LC3B and Beclin1 and phosphorylation levels of PI3K, AKT and mTOR were significantly upregulated in the AAA group compared with the Sham group (Fig. 3), while the expression of PI3K, AKT and mTOR in aorta tissues had no significantly change (Fig. 3). Here, AKT1 is linked to triple-A syndrome.