In KK-Ay mice and podocyte models, treatment with apelin or AS-IV was administered and both were shown to play an important role in alleviating DKD by regulating the ERK/AKT/mTOR and SIRT1-NF-κB P65 signaling pathways (Liu et al., 2017; Wang X. et al., 2019). Here, MTOR is linked to diabetic kidney disease.