Figure 1. At 8 days, the pulps implanted with Dentonin-loaded agarose beads (b) show a slight to moderate inflammation in the area beneath the cavity (a,c). Cells accumulated around agarose beads used as carriers (arrow) (b). Matrix formation was already seen in some pulps, either around dentin debris (d) (a), or as dendritic bone-like structures (asterisk) (c). However, there is no detectable formation of a reparative dentinal bridge at the exposure site. Anti-Dentonin stains the surfaces of Dentonin-coated agarose beads (arrow) (d). PCNA-positive proliferating cells are seen within the pulp and accumulated around the beads (b) (arrow) (e). Positively labeled RP59 are also detected in the pulp and around the agarose beads used as Dentonin carriers (b) (f). A few cells, located at the surfaces of the Dentonin-soaked beads, are labeled positively for osteopontin (OPN), suggesting an early differentiation into osteoblasts (g). Bar = 100 µm.