HORUS: Casting light on HOst-cytomegaloviRUs interaction in Solid organ transplantation

The HORUS project unites solid organ transplantation (SOT) experts, computational data scientists, virologists and immunologists in a fully operating European network consisting of 24 partners.

SOT is the optimal treatment for end-stage organ failure. However, the immunosuppressive drugs used to prevent graft rejection increase the risk of opportunistic infections. Among these infections, cytomegalovirus (CMV) leads to the most frequent morbidity, and can lead to mortality. 

The ambitious but realistic goal of HORUS is to improve our understanding of CMV/host interactions in the context of immunosuppression, with a particular focus on:

  1. The characterisation of signatures associated with the control of CMV replication after transplantation

  2. The characterisation of signatures associated with evolution toward a difficult-to-treat CMV disease and poor outcome during CMV replication

  3. The discovery of new specific immunomodulatory molecules promoting CMV control while maintaining the prevention of acute rejection