As the increased acetylation of p65 is linked to nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappa B) activation, the regulation of p65 acetylation can be a potential target for the treatment of inflammatory injury. Cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity is an important issue in chemotherapy of cancer patients. SIRT1, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD(+))-dependent protein deacetylase, has been implicated in a variety of cellular processes such as inflammatory injury and the control of multidrug resistance in cancer. However, there is no report on the effect of SIRT1 overexpression on cisplatin-induced acetylation of p65 subunit of NF-kappa B and cell injury. To investigate the effect of SIRT1 in on cisplatin-induced acetylation of p65 subunit of NF-kappa B and cell injury, HK2 cells were exposed with SIRT1 overexpression, LacZ adenovirus or dominant negative adenovirus after treatment with cisplatin. While protein expression of SIRT1 was decreased by cisplatin treatment compared with control buffer treatment, acetylation of NF-kappa B p65 subunit was significantly increased after treatment with cisplatin. Overexpression of SIRT1 ameliorated the increased acetylation of p65 of NF-kappa B during cisplatin treatment and cisplatin-induced cytotoxicity. Further, treatment of cisplatin-treated HK2 cells with resveratrol, a SIRT1 activator, also decreased acetylation of NF-kappa B p65 subunit and cisplatin-induced increase of the cell viability in HK2 cells. Our findings suggests that the regulation of acetylation of p65 of NF-kappa B through SIRT1 can be a possible target to attenuate renal cell damage. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.