Previous reports have shown that the PD-1/PD-L1 axis can activate the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and RAS/mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK)/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signalling pathways, resulting in immunosuppression in autoimmune diseases [12, 13]. Here, MTOR is linked to autoimmune disease.