Emerging Roles of Src Family Protein Tyrosine Kinases in Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy: Current Evidence and Therapeutic Perspectives

Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is one of the most common chronic complications of diabetes mellitus and is characterized primarily by distal symmetric polyneuropathy. Its pathogenesis involves multiple interconnected processes, including hyperglycemia, metabolic dysregulation, oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and pain sensitization. Src family kinases (SFKs) are a group of non-receptor protein tyrosine kinases that are widely involved in cell proliferation, migration, inflammatory responses, synaptic plasticity, and ion-channel regulation. Recent evidence indicates that high glucose, advanced glycation end products, inflammatory mediators, and nerve injury-related stimuli can induce aberrant activation of SFKs, which may contribute to DPN-related neural injury and neuropathic pain. However, research on the involvement of SFKs in DPN remains relatively limited, and their specific roles and therapeutic value in DPN require further validation. On the basis of an overview of the structural features of SFKs, this review summarizes current evidence regarding the multiple mechanisms through which SFKs may participate in DPN and discusses the therapeutic prospects of SFK inhibitors, SFK-directed strategies, and traditional Chinese medicine approaches in DPN. The aim is to provide a reference for the development of SFK-targeted therapeutic approaches for DPN.