Background: Hair follicle preservation for the purpose of delayed application would help us to transplant hair follicles more efficiently.
Methods: Isolated single hair follicles were preserved at 4 degrees C in four different solutions. Viability of preserved follicles was judged by organ culture and cell culture. In addition, a small number of hair follicles were transplanted into athymic mice. RESULTS. By cell culture, both dermal papilla and outer root sheath cells could be cultivated after 7 days of preservation. Hair follicles preserved for 48 hours showed a significant increase of hair shafts in organ culture. Those preserved for 7 days regrew well when transplanted into athymic mice.
Conclusion: Preservation of hair follicles at 4 degrees C could be one option to prepare many follicular units at one time for transplantation.