Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 9, 2026

Viability Assay of Trichoderma stromaticum Conidia Inside Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear-Derived Macrophages
07:21

Viability Assay of Trichoderma stromaticum Conidia Inside Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear-Derived Macrophages

Published on: October 20, 2023

Metalloprotease genes of Trichophyton mentagrophytes are important for pathogenicity

Xinke Zhang1, Yanchun Wang, Wanyi Chi

  • 1Clinical Department, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.

Medical Mycology
|July 18, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Trichophyton mentagrophytes uses metalloproteases (MEP) to invade skin. MEP3 showed the highest pathogenicity, while MEP4 and MEP5 appear least important for virulence in dermatophytes.

Area of Science:

  • Mycology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Metalloproteases (Mep) of the M36 family are key virulence factors for dermatophytes like Trichophyton mentagrophytes.
  • Dermatophytes degrade keratin using secreted enzymes to invade skin.
  • Previous studies identified five MEP genes (MEP1-MEP5) in T. mentagrophytes with varying expression, suggesting distinct functions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the specific pathogenic functions and proteolytic activities of individual MEP genes in T. mentagrophytes.
  • To determine the role of each metalloprotease in host invasion and keratin degradation.

Main Methods:

  • Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation (ATMT) was employed to create five distinct MEP mutant strains.
  • Mutant strains were analyzed for proteolytic activity, hair biodegradation, and animal pathogenicity.
  • Comparative analysis of virulence factors among the MEP mutant strains.

Main Results:

  • MEP3 exhibited the strongest proteolytic activity, hair biodegradation capability, and animal pathogenicity.
  • MEP4 and MEP5 mutants demonstrated the lowest pathogenicity in the conducted tests.
  • Significant differences in virulence were observed among the five MEP mutant strains.

Conclusions:

  • MEP3 plays a crucial role in the pathogenicity of T. mentagrophytes.
  • The MEP4 and MEP5 genes are hypothesized to have a significant but lesser impact on T. mentagrophytes pathogenicity compared to MEP3.
  • Understanding individual MEP gene functions can guide the development of targeted antifungal strategies.
Keywords:
Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformationTrichophyton mentagrophytesmetalloproteasespathogenicity

More Related Videos

Development of Metarhizium anisopliae as a Mycoinsecticide: From Isolation to Field Performance14:15

Development of Metarhizium anisopliae as a Mycoinsecticide: From Isolation to Field Performance

Published on: July 30, 2017

Identification of Virulence Markers of Mycobacterium abscessus for Intracellular Replication in Phagocytes08:34

Identification of Virulence Markers of Mycobacterium abscessus for Intracellular Replication in Phagocytes

Published on: September 27, 2018

Related Concept Videos

Fungal Phylum Microsporidia01:28

Fungal Phylum Microsporidia

Microsporidia are a group of obligate intracellular fungi that were initially classified as protists but were later reclassified based on phylogenetic, molecular, and structural evidence linking them to the Chytridiomycota. These unicellular, non-motile organisms are highly specialized parasites that infect a wide range of animal hosts, including humans. They have evolved extensive genomic and metabolic reductions, making them highly dependent on their hosts for survival.Morphology and Genomic...
Bacterial Phylum Tenericutes01:24

Bacterial Phylum Tenericutes

The phylum Tenericutes, which includes the single class Mollicutes, comprises bacteria that lack cell walls. The term "Mollicutes" derives from the Latin word mollis, meaning "soft." These organisms are among the smallest known and are commonly referred to as mycoplasmas due to the prominence of the genus Mycoplasma, which includes well-known human pathogens. Despite their inability to stain gram-positively (a result of their lack of cell walls), mycoplasmas are phylogenetically related to the...
Gene Regulation in Microbial Communities: Quorum Sensing01:28

Gene Regulation in Microbial Communities: Quorum Sensing

Quorum sensing is a mechanism of bacterial communication that enables coordinated gene expression in response to changes in population density. This facilitates collective behaviors that enhance survival, resource acquisition, and ecological adaptation. This process relies on small signaling molecules called autoinducers that accumulate as bacterial populations grow. When a critical threshold concentration of autoinducers is reached, bacterial cells collectively modify gene expression,...
Transduction01:16

Transduction

Among the three main modes of HGT—transformation, conjugation, and transduction—transduction is unique in that it is mediated by bacteriophages, or bacterial viruses.Transduction occurs in two ways. Generalized transduction occurs during the lytic cycle of a bacteriophage infection. In this process, bacteriophages infect bacterial cells, replicate within them, and ultimately cause cell lysis, releasing newly assembled virions. Occasionally, random fragments of the bacterial genome are...
Pharmacogenetics of Phase II Enzymes: N-acetyltransferase, Thiopurine S-methyltransferase, UDP-glucuronosyltransferase01:27

Pharmacogenetics of Phase II Enzymes: N-acetyltransferase, Thiopurine S-methyltransferase, UDP-glucuronosyltransferase

Phase II biotransformation reactions are essential for detoxifying and eliminating xenobiotics, including many pharmaceutical compounds. These reactions typically involve conjugation, the covalent attachment of polar endogenous groups such as glucuronic acid, sulfate, methyl, or acetyl moieties to functional groups introduced during Phase I metabolism. The resulting conjugates are more water-soluble, enabling efficient renal or biliary excretion.The major classes of Phase II enzymes include...
Role of Matrix Metalloproteases in Degradation of ECM01:23

Role of Matrix Metalloproteases in Degradation of ECM

Matrix metalloproteases (MMPs) are enzymes involved in the hydrolysis of proteins and glycoproteins of the extracellular matrix. MMPs are essential for the migration and proliferation of cells through the dense matrix network, throughout embryonic development, and throughout morphogenesis. The first MMP activity discovered was a collagenase in a tadpole's tail undergoing metamorphosis. The active collagen deposition and modifications lead to the morphogenesis of tadpoles into the adult body.
A...