Solamargine Inhibits Prostate Cancer Cell Growth and Enhances the Therapeutic Efficacy of Docetaxel via Akt Signaling

Prostate cancer (PCa) has become a leading cause of cancer-associated incidence and mortality in men worldwide. However, most primary PCas relapse to castration-resistant PCa (CRPC) after androgen deprivation treatment. The current treatment for CRPC is based on chemotherapeutic drugs such as docetaxel, while the development of chemoresistance and severe side effects limit the therapeutic benefit. Solamargine, a natural alkaloid isolated from a traditional Chinese herbal medicine known as Solanum nigrum, exhibits antitumor activity in various human cancers. In this study, we demonstrated that solamargine substantially inhibited CRPC cell growth in a dose-dependent manner through the suppression of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt signaling. Moreover, solamargine exhibited significant antitumor effects in mouse xenograft models. Bioinformatics analysis of docetaxel-resistant PCa cells indicated that the PI3K/Akt pathway mediated the chemoresistance of CRPC. Furthermore, solamargine significantly enhanced the efficacy of docetaxel in PCa cells. These results reveal the therapeutic potential of solamargine against human PCa.