Kaempferol-3-O-Rhamnoside Inhibits the Proliferation of Jurkat Cells Through Jun Amino-Terminal Kinase Signaling

Background: Indonesian herbal medicine has become target of new drugs against diseases, including cancer. The high incidence and mortality rate of cancer, anticancer resistance, and side effects of chemotherapy contribute to the urgency of researching novel anticancer drugs. A natural product from Schima wallichii Korth., an Indonesian herbal medicine empirically used for many diseases, has shown anticancer activity in MCF-7 and LNCaP cells. Objective: In this study, we investigated the antiproliferative mechanism of the active compound of S. wallichii, kaempferol-3-O-rhamnoside, against Jurkat cells. Methods: Treated cells were analyzed using a proliferation assay and real time-reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction for IL-2 mRNA measurement. The mechanism of antiproliferative activity was assesed by western blotting analysis for Mitogen Activated Protein Kinases (MAPKs). Results: Kaempferol-3-O-rhamnoside has an antiproliferative activity at IC50 of 76.3 μM and slightly inhibited IL-2 mRNA expression. The mechanism to inhibit Jurkat cells proliferation was through the stimulation of phosphorylated Jun amino-terminal kinase. Conclusion: The present study observed the molecular mechanism of antiproliferative activity of kaempferol-3-O-rhamnoside.