Your dead body essentially treats a tattoo like it ’s an contagion . Ink is injected into the skin where it is gobble up by immune cells squall macrophages as if it ’s an invading pathogen . Macrophage , incidentally , translates to “ fully grown feeder ” in Greek .
The pelt function through a cycle of constant regeneration and old skin cells , admit macrophages , die off to be replaced with shiny new I , so you might assume that tattoo pigment would fade and vanish with the go macrophage . Yet , clearly , it does n’t because we all know a tattoo lasts a lifespan . Now , a squad of scientists from Aix Marseille Université , France , think they know why .
inquiry write in theJournal of Experimental Medicinefound that the have ink is unblock into the skin ’s epidermic layer when a macrophage dies to be soaked up by the surrounding cells . It continues this cycle for , well , ever , which basically means that your tattoo renews as the skin does .
This disproves premature theories that tattoo pigment stains the tegument , thus connect a tattoo ’s permanency to cell length of service rather than cubicle regeneration ( as has turned out to be the case ) .
“ We further demonstrated that tattoo pigment particles can undergo sequent bike of capture – spillage – recapture without any tattoo vanishing , ” the discipline ’s authorsexplainedin their paper .
“ Therefore , congruent with dermal macrophage dynamic , tenacious - term tattoo pertinacity in all probability rely on macrophage refilling rather than on macrophage longevity . ”
To test the theory , the squad inked mice tails with green stripes before take away their macrophage to see how it affected the character of the paint . The ink appear identical to how it had been before the treatment , suggest that the pigment had been discharge into the dermal layer before being adopted by raw skin cell .
The results were confirm when the team transplanted a tattooed skin graft from one mouse to a second ( albino ) mouse . Six hebdomad later , macrophages in the albino computer mouse were absorbing the tattoo pigment as if it were their own .
Aside from being a fascinating piece of enquiry that help excuse how your tattoo last so long , it could prove utile for anyone like to off one they now regret – perhaps an ex-husband ’s name or an inauspicious souvenir from Spring Break 2007 .
While the researchers take that the next stage of examination call for to confirm whether or not this cycle of gaining control and release applies to humans as well as black eye , they do propose that optical maser tattoo remotion could be more effective when used alongside the operative removal of the inked - up macrophage .
