Background: Melanocytes are specialized neural crest-derived cells. They are responsible for hair, skin and eye pigmentation, so they are specialized pigment-producing cells. Melanoblasts are localized in the bulge region of the hair follicle can transform into melanocyte stem cells (MelSCs) or differentiated melanocytes, which produce melanin pigment. It holds promise for functional therapeutic potential and development for the future cell-based therapy of various diseases caused by defective pigment cells like vitiligo. The aim of this study was to isolate melanocyte stem cells from human hair follicle. Methods: The MelSCs CD34+ population was isolated by MagCellect Magnet and assessed for melanocyte stem cell markers by flow cytometry. Results: Results revealed that the isolated CD34+ melanocyte stem cells exhibited higher expression for melanocyte stem cells markers dopachrome tautomerase (DCT) and microphthalmia associated transcription factor (MITF) and differentiation markers melanocytic antigen (PNL2) and tyrosinase (TYR). Conclusion: the study revealed an efficient method of isolation of melanocyte stem cells. The cells were confirmed for their characteristics by flow cytometry analysis of positive and negative markers. Functional analyses of the isolated cells would further confirm its usage in cellular therapies for treatment of skin pigmentation disorders.

In this study, iron oxide nanoparticles (NPs) had been prepared by co-precipitation method. In order to reduce their toxicity and increase stability, prepared iron oxide was coated with gum Arabic. Gum Arabic is preferred over synthetic materials due to their non-toxicity, low cost and availability. Characterization of coated and non-coated iron oxide NPs had been performed by spectrophotometer, Fourier transfer infra-red spectrophotometer (FTIR), Zeta potential, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopic (FE-SEM). The fabricated nanoparticles appeared purity and crystalline nature by XRD, with diameter average of 27.01 nm and 55.12 nm for iron oxide NPs and iron oxide NPs coated with gum Arabic, respectively. On the other hand, four biological activities of coated and non-coated iron oxide had been investigated. High removal of methylene blue pollutant dye (46%) was observed with iron oxide NPs, while removal percentage was 22.6 performed by iron oxide NPs coated with gum Arabic within 72 h. Iron oxide NPs revealed high inhibition zones of 27.5 nm and 30 mm, at 1000 μμg/ml, against S. aureus and E. coli, respectively, while coated iron oxide NPs with gum Arabic revealed low antibacterial activity against both examined bacteria even when used at 1000 μμg/ml. The hemolytic activity of prepared NPs had been determined. The hemolytic percentage was increased whenever concentrations of nanoparticles increased. Lower hemolytic percentages were 69.76 and 50.98 for iron oxide NPs and iron oxide NPs coated with gum Arabic were observed at a concentration of 250 μμg/ml. Finally, cytotoxic activity was estimated against MCF-7 cell line and normal cell line WRL68 by MTT assay. A decrease in MCF-7 viability to 65.1% was observed when 400 μμg/ml of iron oxide NPs was used, while WRL68 viability was 75.03%. Iron oxide NPs coated with gum Arabic revealed significant reduction in MCF-7 and WRL68 viability to 69.90% and 80.05%, respectively, when 400 μμg/ml of nanoparticles was applied.