Considering the significance of the AMPK-mTOR pathway in regulating autophagy, we measured the effects of metformin on phosphorylated mTOR, a crucial autophagy pathway regulator (21), and SQSTM1, an autophagosome adapter and marker of autophagic flux (22), during SFTSV infection or rapamycin treatment. Here, SQSTM1 is linked to infection.