Imaging immune and metabolic cells of visceral adipose tissues with multimodal nonlinear optical microscopy

Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) inflammation is recognized as a mechanism by which obesity is associated with metabolic diseases. The communication between adipose tissue macrophages (ATMs) and adipocytes is important to understanding the interaction between immunity and energy metabolism and its roles in obesity-induced diseases. Yet visualizing adipocytes and macrophages in complex tissues is challenging to standard imaging methods. Here, we describe the use of a multimodal nonlinear optical (NLO) microscope to characterize the composition of VATs of lean and obese mice including adipocytes, macrophages, and collagen fibrils in a label-free manner. We show that lipid metabolism processes such as lipid droplet formation, lipid droplet microvesiculation, and free fatty acids trafficking can be dynamically monitored in macrophages and adipocytes. With its versatility, NLO microscopy should be a powerful imaging tool to complement molecular characterization of the immunity-metabolism interface.