The relation between the growth and extracellular proteolytic activity in trichophyton rubrum, comparing isolates from granuloma trichophyticum with tinea superficialis

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. This enzyme had an optimal pH 4.5 for azocoll and was found in both isolates from tinea superficialis and granuloma trichophyticum. The proteolytic activity of isolates from granuloma trichophyticum were superior to isolates from tinea superficialis in both acid and alkaline proteinase. But the growth of T. rubrum isolates from tinea superficialis were better than that from granuloma trichophyticum.