Preclinical Imaging for Fat Tissue Identification, Quantification, and Functional Characterization

Localization, differentiation, and quantitative assessment of fat tissues have always collected the interest of researchers. Nowadays, these topics are even more relevant as obesity (the excess of fat tissue) is considered a real pathology requiring in some cases pharmacological and surgical approaches. Several weight loss medications, acting either on the metabolism or on the central nervous system, are currently under preclinical or clinical investigation. Animal models of obesity have been developed and are widely used in pharmaceutical research. The assessment of candidate drugs in animal models requires non-invasive methods for longitudinal assessment of efficacy, the main outcome being the amount of body fat. Fat tissues can be either quantified in the entire animal or localized and measured in selected organs/regions of the body. Fat tissues are characterized by peculiar contrast in several imaging modalities as for example Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) that can distinguish between fat and water protons thank to their different magnetic resonance properties. Since fat tissues have higher carbon/hydrogen content than other soft tissues and bones, they can be easily assessed by Computed Tomography (CT) as well. Interestingly, MRI also discriminates between white and brown adipose tissue (BAT); the latter has long been regarded as a potential target for anti-obesity drugs because of its ability to enhance energy consumption through increased thermogenesis. Positron Emission Tomography (PET) performed with F-FDG as glucose analog radiotracer reflects well the metabolic rate in body tissues and consequently is the technique of choice for studies of BAT metabolism. This review will focus on the main, non-invasive imaging techniques (MRI, CT, and PET) that are fundamental for the assessment, quantification and functional characterization of fat deposits in small laboratory animals. The contribution of optical techniques, which are currently regarded with increasing interest, will be also briefly described. For each technique the physical principles of signal detection will be overviewed and some relevant studies will be summarized. Far from being exhaustive, this review has the purpose to highlight some strategies that can be adopted for the identification, quantification, and functional characterization of adipose tissues mainly from the point of view of biophysics and physiology.