The correlation between magnetic resonance imaging and ultrastructural patterns of brown adipose tissue

The present paper reports on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at high spatial resolution of the brown adipose tissue (BAT) in laboratory rodents, in comparison with light and electron microscopy findings. Our aim was to assess whether MRI correlates with the expected ultrastructural differences between newborn and adult BAT. The study was performed on the cervical and the interscapular BAT deposits by means of a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-spectrometer equipped with a high resolution imaging system. Ultrastructural examination of BAT at different ages showed three different patterns of adipocyte ultrastructure in BAT which were associated with different MRI patterns. In BAT, MRI identifies the prevalent type of adipocyte in the tissue providing information consistent with ultrastructural results. Results presented here show that MRI represents a precise and reliable tool to investigate the morphology of tissues in living animals. The safe, non-invasive MRI technique represents a very useful tool in morphological research.