MTOR and liver dysplastic nodule: The innovative points of this study were as follows: (1) determination of therapeutic efficacy of hucMSCs on blood glucose and DN in diabetic rats; (2) revealing of hucMSCs’ paracrine actions of protection and anti-senescence on podocytes; and (3) discovery of AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway-dependent pro-autophagy mechanism of hucMSCs on DN.