Aconitum C₂₀-diterpenoid alkaloid derivatives regulate the growth and differentiation of cord blood derived human hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells.

The pharmacological activity of Aconitum alkaloids depends on their fundamental structure. While C₁₉-norditerpenoid alkaloids present significant toxicity to the central nervous system, C₂₀-diterpenoid alkaloids have reduced toxicities. However, there is little information regarding the precise pharmacological properties of C₂₀-diterpenoid alkaloids. C₂₀-diterpenoid alkaloid derivatives have explicit structure-activity relationships targeting various tumor cells, which depend on the C11-substrate. However, the present study showed that C6-derivatives additively or synergistically sustained proliferation of CD34⁺ hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells derived from the placental/umbilical cord blood. It revealed that identical structures belonging to C₂₀-diterpenoid alkaloids surprisingly have opposing proliferative effects depending on the derivatization sites (C6 versus C11).