Detection of circulating antibodies to purified keratinolytic proteinase in sera from guinea pigs infected with Microsporum canis by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

A keratinolytic proteinase (KPase) which is regarded as an important factor in the pathogenesis of dermatophytosis was isolated and purified from Microsporum (M.) canis culture filtrates. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to determine the occurrence of circulating antibodies to this enzyme in sera samples from guinea pigs with superficial fungal infections caused by M. canis. Of sera samples from guinea pigs infected with M. canis, 75% were reactive within 10 weeks, however, those ELISA values were relatively low compared with those from guinea pigs immunized with KPase. The presence of circulating antibodies was first detected 2 weeks post inoculation with M. canis, corresponding to the period when the lesions were most severe. The titers of the ELISA antibodies reached a peak at 4 weeks; at that time the lesions had disappeared completely.