Click on image to view larger version.
Figure 3. Histological analysis of 12-week implants. H&E-stained control and experimental tissues. Positive control intact 4-dpn tooth bud implants exhibited well-formed dentin, enamel, and pulp tissues (A,A'). Dental-cell-seeded PGA (B,B') and PLGA (C,C') scaffold tooth tissues also generated dentin, enamel, and pulp tissues. Infiltrating lymphocytes were occasionally observed in dental implants (C,C', arrows). Goldner’s stain of positive control intact tooth bud implants revealed blue-stained dentin, red-stained immature enamel, and gray-stained mature enamel (D,D'). PGA- and PLGA-bioengineered teeth both exhibited blue-stained dentin, while PGA generally produced mature, gray-stained enamel at 12 wks, and PLGA generated both red- and gray-stained mature enamel (E,E',F,F'). Abbreviations: d, dentin; e, enamel; em, enamel matrix; pe, pre-enamel; pu, pulp.
