Abstract: Objective To explore the expression and clinical significance of gene MEP and SUB in Trichophyton rubrum.Methods Total RNA of Trichophyton rubrum was extracted for semi-quantitative RT-PCR to detect expression changes of metalloproteinases (MEP) and subtilisins (SUB).Methods Trichophyton rubrum SUB expression was closely related to clinical symptoms,but irrelevant to age, gender,or disease duration. The expression levels of MEP varied to age, gender, disease duration and clinical classification,without significant differences.Conclusions The virulence of Trichophyton rubrum may be related to the different expression of gene SUB.

Key words: Trichophyton rubrum, semi-quantitative RT-PCR, MEP, SUB