Curcumin inhibits Jurkat cell proliferation by inducing apoptosis via activation-induced cell death

The effects of curcumin on cell proliferation, activation-induced cell death (AICD) and expression of interleukin-2 (IL-2) receptors (IL-2Rα, CD25) by Jurkat cells were investigated. Incubation of Jurkat cells for 72 h with either phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) or curcumin (2.5 μg/mL) resulted in marked inhibition of cell proliferation, determined by 3H-thymidine incorporation. The anticancer activity of curcumin was also confirmed by quantitating the PHA-induced AICD in Jurkat cells by flow cytometry. It was found that curcumin (2.5 μg/mL) enhanced apoptosis in PHA-treated Jurkat cells. Further we observed the level of CD25 expression on Jurkat cells by flow cytometry. Our data indicate that curcumin inhibited PHA-induced CD25 expression. The present study suggests that curcumin have potent anticancer activities, which might be useful in lymphoma treatment.