Abstract
Trichophyton rubrum a major pathogenic fungus in dermatophytosis, produced a new type of extracellular proteinase, in addition to those previously reported, when cultivated in liquid medium containing bovine serum albumin or in fetal calf serum. This enzyme had an optimal pH 4.5 for azocoll and the activity was strongly inhibited by PMSF and chymostatin. The related enzyme profiles suggested that this proteinase was one of the serine proteinases, and it was found in isolates from both tinea superficialis and granuloma trichophyticum. The proteolytic activity of isolates from granuloma trichophyticum was higher than that from tinea superficialis in both acid and alkaline proteinases, but the isolate growth from tinea superficialis was better than that from granuloma trichophyticum.
