Assessment of hair follicle viability in artificial media before transplantation

Currently, the number of men suffering from androgenetic alopecia is increasing every day and, according to various sources, has reached 80%. The aim of the study was to compare the condition of hair follicles (HF) that had not been exposed to the external media and those that had been exposed to various artificial media by assessing the function of the sodium-potassium pump in the cell membrane using electron microscopy.
Material and methods. We studied HF that were extracted from the human body immediately before the study and kept for 6 hours in the three most common artificial solutions. All samples underwent electron microscopy of the follicles using the QUANTAX 70 software and spectral assessment of the chemical composition. Results. We found a correlation between the ionic composition of the HF and the composition of the solutions, which can affect cell viability. We found that standard saline solution, which is traditionally the agent of choice for short-term preservation of harvested grafts, had the greatest effect on the ratio of potassium and sodium ions inside the cell. However, a high concentration of sodium in the environment leads to an increase in its concentration inside the cell and to the «washout» of potassium ions. When comparing three solutions for preserving harvested follicles, the best results were obtained using the Dimephosphone solution, in which the «washout» of ions was insignificant, and the potassium-sodium ratio was practically preserved.
Conclusions. According to the observed changes in the HF, it is possible to indirectly assess the processes occurring during storage and, accordingly, determine the degree of viability for further transplantation. A neutral solution purified from sodium ions is required to preserve the grafts.
Key words: androgenetic alopecia, ionic composition, hair transplantation, electron microscopy, chemical analysis, hair follicle, sodium-potassium pump ion transport system, follicle sampling, follicular unit
Conflicts of interest. The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Financing. The paper was done without sponsorship.