Detecting white adipose tissue browning in mice with in vivo R2* mapping at 9.4T MRI

White adipose tissue (WAT) browning is considered a promising strategy to combat obesity and related metabolic diseases. Currently, fat-water fraction (FWF) has been used as a marker for the loss of lipids associated with WAT browning. However, FWF may not be sensitive to metabolic changes and cannot specifically reflect iron-regulated metabolism during browning. Here, we report a non-invasive preclinical imaging approach based on iron content detected by R