No Differences in Stress Protein Induction and Proliferative Capability in Follicular Unit Grafts Obtained by Follicular Unit Excision (FUE) and Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT)

Background: Two techniques are currently used in hair restoration surgery: Follicular Unit Excision (FUE) and Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT). Both techniques give excellent clinical results but differ in the way the follicular units (FUs) are excised and handled. It has been shown previously that careful excision and handling of FUs are critical for the outcome because of molecular events that occur in FU cells outside of the body. Materials & Methods: In this study, we compared the two methods with respect to cellular stress response and cellular growth properties by measuring the expression of compartment-specific hair follicle genes, stress protein genes, and proliferation-related genes in cultured cells. Results & Conclusion: Although molecular changes suggest a cellular stress response during the procedure, we found no significant differences between the FUE and FUT grafts and no alteration of growth capabilities of the hair follicle cells obtained by FUE and FUT.