Phenotypic characterization of enzymatic activity of clinical dermatophyte isolates from animals with and without skin lesions and humans.

Profile of enzymes characteristic of individual species, genus or ecological types of dermatophytes is possibly dependent upon factors related to the host. The relationship between each enzyme and the occurrence of skin lesions in animals and humans or asymptomatic animal carriers varies on whether the infection is caused by Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Trichophyton verrucosum or Microsporum canis. Interestingly, only keratinase seems to be correlated with the appearance of dermatophyte infections, irrespective of the pathogen species, and elastase is a characteristic enzyme for dermatophyte strains infecting humans. Haemolysis seems to be dependent on host factors and is more common in the case of human dermatophyte isolates.