In a 2014 study, experimental results revealed that the use of the cathepsin S inhibitor ZFL resulted in the upregulated expression of the autophagy-related protein LC3 and the phosphorylation of AKT, mTOR, and p70S6K in human glioblastoma cells, thereby promoting autophagy and apoptosis. This evidence concerns the gene AKT1 and glioblastoma.