Targeting SRC to mediate solasonine's anti-cancer activity in hepatocellular carcinoma and its potential for multi-cancer therapy.

Introduction: Cancer remains a leading cause of mortality worldwide, with persistent therapeutic gaps across its heterogeneous subtypes. Solasonine, a steroidal glycoalkaloid from Solanum species, exhibits broad anti-tumor activity, yet its pan-cancer mechanisms of action remain poorly defined. Methods: A multi-tiered framework was employed: bibliometric analysis mapped the global research landscape; network pharmacology identified core solasonine-cancer target intersections, followed by GO and KEGG pathway enrichment and drug-target-pathway network construction; qRT-PCR, Western blotting, and CCK-8 assays in HCC cell lines experimentally validated the in silico-predicted hub target, SRC, and interrogated downstream signaling. Results: Bibliometric analysis showed solasonine research concentrated primarily on breast cancer, bladder cancer, and HCC. Network pharmacology identified eight core targets-SRC, EGFR, AKT1, CDH1, TNF, BCL2, ESR1, and STAT3-with SRC as the central network hub. Experimental validation confirmed solasonine suppressed SRC at both transcriptional and translational levels, and SRC overexpression significantly rescued solasonine-induced proliferative inhibition in HCC cells. Discussion: These integrated findings identify SRC as a critical mechanistic node mediating the pan-cancer anti-tumor effects of solasonine, particularly in HCC, and provide a rational foundation for its further development as a multi-target therapeutic agent.