Obesity Research & Clinical Practice (2007) 1, 69—77 In vivo quantification of fat content in mice using the Hologic QDR 4500A densitometer Susan M. Senn a,1 , Susan Kantor a,b,2 , Brian J. Leury c,3 , Sofianos Andrikopoulos d,e,4 , Terence J. O’Brien a,5 , Margaret J. Morris d,e,6 , Joseph Proietto d,e,7 , John D. Wark a,b,* a Department of Medicine, C/- The Royal Melbourne Hospital, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Vic. 3050, Australia b Royal Melbourne Hospital Bone and Mineral Service, C/- The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, Vic. 3050, Australia c School of Agricultural and Food Systems, The University of Melbourne Royal Parade, Parkville, Vic. 3050, Australia d Department of Medicine (AH/NH), The University of Melbourne, C/- The Austin Repatriation Hospital, Heidelberg, Vic. 3081, Australia e Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Medical Sciences, The University of New South Wales, NSW 2052, Australia Received 17 July 2006; received in revised form 8 November 2006; accepted 9 November 2006 KEYWORDS Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry; Mice; Body composition; Fat; Obesity Summary Purpose: Validation of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) with the Hologic QDR 4500A (QDR 4500) Fan Beam X-ray densitometer for in vivo assessment of body fat content in mice. Methods: Precision of DXA fat measurement was assessed by repeated in vivo scan- ning and re-positioning of different sized mice (17.6, 24.6, 34.2 g). DXA fat and total mass measurements were correlated with dissected tissue weights in 240 female adult mice of seven strains (mean weights 21.9—26.8 g). Accuracy of DXA fat tis- sue measurements was assessed by chemical analysis in a subgroup of 40 female decapitated mice (mean weights 19.6—28.4 g). ∗ Corresponding author at: Department of Medicine, The University of Melbourne, Royal Melbourne Hospital, C/- The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, Vic. 3050, Australia. Tel.: +61 3 9342 7109; fax: +61 3 9348 2254. E-mail address: jdwark@unimelb.edu.au (J.D. Wark). 1 Tel.: +61 3 8344 3270; fax: +61 3 9347 1863. 2 Tel.: +61 3 9342 7027; fax: +61 3 9342 7027. 3 Tel.: +61 3 8344 6341; fax: +61 3 8344 5037. 4 Tel.: +61 3 9496 2403; fax: +61 3 9497 4554. 5 Tel.: +61 3 8344 3260; fax: +61 3 9348 2254. 6 Tel.: +61 3 9385 1560; fax: +61 3 9385 1059. 7 Tel.: +61 3 9496 2250; fax: +61 3 9497 4554. 1871-403X/$ — see front matter © 2006 Asian Oceanian Association for the Study of Obesity. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.orcp.2006.11.001