Ganoderma lucidum is a well-known herbal remedy widely used for treating various chronic diseases. Traditionally, the fruiting body is regarded as the medicinal part of this fungus, while recently, the therapeutic potentials of Ganoderma lucidum spore (GLS) is gaining increasing interests. However, detailed knowledge of chemical compositions and biological activities of the spore is still lacking. In this study, high-resolution mass spectrometry and molecular networking were employed for in-depth chemical profiling of GLS, sporoderm-broken GLS (BGLS) and sporoderm-removed GLS (RGLS), leading to the characterization of 109 constituents. The result also showed that RGLS contained more triterpenoids with much higher contents than BGLS and GLS. Moreover, the immunomodulatory activities of BGLS and RGLS were investigated in the zebrafish models of neutropenia or macrophage deficiency. RGLS exhibited more potent activities in alleviating vinorelbine-induced neutropenia or macrophage deficiency, and significantly enhanced phagocytic function of macrophages, which indicated the immunomodulatory activity of GLS was positively correlated with the content of triterpenoids. Further correlation analysis of chemical profiles of GLS and corresponding bioactivities by partial least squares regression identified the potential immunoactive compounds of GLS, including 20-hydroxylganoderic acid G, elfvingic acid A and ganohainanic acid C. Our findings suggest that combining mass spectrometry molecular networking with zebrafish-based bioassays and chemometrics is a feasible strategy to reveal complex chemical compositions of herbal medicines, as well as to discover their potential active constituents.

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Background Perineal ultrasound as a non-invasive method for the diagnosis of female stress urinary incontinence has attracted more and more attention. However, the criteria for stress urinary incontinence in women using perineal ultrasound have not been fully established. Our study aimed to evaluate characteristics of the urethral spatial movement with perineal ultrasonography. Methods A total of 136 female patients with stress urinary incontinence and 44 controls were enrolled. Stress urinary incontinence was diagnosed using the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire Short Form, medical history and physical examination, and severity was assessed using a 1 h pad test. We described the mobility of four equidistant points (A–D) located along the urethra length. The retrovesical and urethral rotation angles were measured using perineal ultrasonography at rest and during the maximal Valsalva maneuver. Results Patients with stress urinary incontinence showed a more significant vertical movement at Points A, B and C than controls. The mean variations in the retrovesical angle were significantly larger in patients with stress urinary incontinence at rest and during the Valsalva maneuver than in controls (21.0 ± 16.5° vs. 14.7 ± 20.1°, respectively). The cut-off value for the retrovesical angle variation was 10.7° with 72% sensitivity and 54% specificity. There was a receiver-operating characteristic curve area of 0.73 and 0.72 for Points A and B, respectively. A cut-off of 10.8 mm, and 9.4 mm provided 71% sensitivity and 68% specificity and 67% sensitivity and 75% specificity, respectively. Conclusions The spatial movement of the bladder neck and proximal urethra, and variations in the retrovesical angle may be correlated with clinical symptoms and facilitate to the assessment of SUI.