As unlikely as it sounds, researchers believe that a virus found in rabbits could help make bone marrow transplants safer for patients and improve the options of people unable to find fully-matched bone marrow donors.

Share on Pinterest The myxoma virus can be lethal to rabbits but it does not affect humans when they are exposed to it.

In their study, published in Blood, the scientists found that the myxoma virus simultaneously killed cancer cells and prevented graft-versus-host disease, one of the most dangerous complications of bone marrow transplants.

Bone marrow transplants are an important form of treatment for patients with blood cancers, such as leukemia and multiple myeloma. If a patient’s bone marrow is not producing enough healthy stem cells, healthy cells can be infused into their body to replace damaged or diseased bone marrow.

There is a risk, however, with the procedure in that newly transplanted white blood cells can attack the recipient’s body – a condition referred to as graft-versus-host disease that can lead to shortness of breath, abdominal pain and, in severe cases, death.

Myxoma virus is typically found among rabbits in Australia and Europe. In rabbits, the virus can lead to the highly lethal condition myxomatosis, but in humans, the myxoma virus is benign.

The researchers tested the virus on human cells in the laboratory, attaching the myxoma virus to white blood cells known as T cells before delivering them as part of a bone marrow transplant. Once transplanted, the virus not only blocked graft-versus-host disease but was delivered to cancer cells that were present and killed them.