Abstract
Simple SummaryFat depots in the abdomen and around the organs, which are called visceral adipose tissue, play an important role in the field of obesity-associated diseases in humans and for pork production as well. Magnetic resonance imaging—as reference method—and a special X-ray technique called dual energy X-ray absorptiometry were used to measure the visceral adipose tissue in 120 pigs in order to analyze the accuracy of a special X-ray software algorithm (the “CoreScan” mode), and to study sex or crossbreed-related effects. The “CoreScan” mode overestimates the amount of visceral adipose tissue in comparison with magnetic resonance imaging, while castrated males tend to accumulate more visceral adipose tissue than females, and the first crossbred generation deposits more fat than the second generation.The objective of this study was to phenotype visceral adipose tissue (VAT) in pigs. In this context, the ability to detect VAT by using the DXA CoreScan mode within the enCORE software, version 17 (GE Healthcare) was evaluated in comparison with MRI measurements (Siemens Magnetom C!) of the same body region. A number of 120 crossbred pigs of the F1 and F2 generation, with the parental breeds Large White, Landrace, Piétrain, and Duroc, were examined at an age of 150 days. A whole-body scan in two different modes (“thick”, “standard”) was carried out by a GE Lunar iDXA scanner. Very strong relationships (R2 = 0.95, RMSE = 175 cm3) were found for VAT between the two DXA modes. The comparison of VAT measured by MRI and DXA shows high linear relationships (“thick”: R2 = 0.76, RMSE = 399.25 cm3/“standard”: R2 = 0.71, RMSE = 443.42 cm3), but is biased, according to the Bland–Altman analysis. A variance analysis of VAT shows significant differences for both DXA modes and for MRI between male and female pigs, as well as between F1 and F2. In conclusion, DXA “CoreScan” has the ability to estimate VAT in pigs with a close relationship to MRI but needs bias correction.
Highlights
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the most common cause of death in Germany and the entire world in the last few years
This study examined the ability of CoreScan to precisely quantify the content of visceral adipose tissue in pigs compared to the results of magnet resonance imaging (MRI)
MRI was usedand as reference method to evaluate the potential of the CoreScan feature in pigs
Summary
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the most common cause of death in Germany and the entire world in the last few years. Animals 2020, 10, 1165 risk factors, such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, and metabolic syndrome, are associated with visceral adipose tissue (VAT) [7,8]. Against the backdrop of high mortality, resulting from CVD, the need for precise measurement methods of VAT is immense. With their CoreScan mode, GE Healthcare offers the possibility of determining visceral adipose tissue by using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). This study examined the ability of CoreScan to precisely quantify the content of visceral adipose tissue in pigs compared to the results of magnet resonance imaging (MRI)
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