Direct isolation of Inoue-Melnick virus from human colorectal carcinoma tissues but not from stomach carcinoma tissues.

Inoue-Melnick virus (IMV) was isolated directly from all of the seven human colorectal adenocarcinoma tissues studied, whereas IMV was not isolated from five human stomach carcinoma tissues. Seven isolates from the Japanese colorectal carcinoma tissues were identified as type 1 IMV by the neutralization test and were sensitive to phosphonoacetic acid, a growth inhibitor of IMV. Furthermore, type 1 IMV-antibody was detected in six of seven sera of the patients whose colorectal carcinoma tissues were positive for virus isolation. In contrast, IMV-antibody was not detected in the five sera of the patients whose stomach carcinoma tissues were tested and found negative for IMV.