SIRT1 and acute kidney injury: In contrast, sepsis-AKI patients had lowered mRNA expression of Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), involved in inhibiting oxidative stress and in biogenesis, as compared to control subjects (p < 0.01; Fig. 3e), while NRF2 important in regulation of antioxidant protein expression was not different between both groups (Fig. 3f).