Since moving to Cambridge, Minson's research has focused on
animal viruses, particularly those of the
herpesvirus family, including
herpes simplex virus (HSV) and
human cytomegalovirus. These large and complex
enveloped DNA viruses commonly infect humans, causing a lifelong
latent infection. Conditions associated with HSV include
cold sores and
genital herpes, and both HSV and cytomegalovirus can be life-threatening in immunodeficient people. Much of Minson's research has investigated herpesvirus
replication and
life cycle, viral
pathogenesis and the
immune response. His work has contributed to understanding the processes by which HSV fuses with the
cell membrane and acquires its envelope. As of 2013, his research focuses on herpesvirus
entry, in particular how the viral membrane proteins cooperate to induce fusion, as well as assembly, in particular of the viral membrane proteins. Minson has also worked in collaboration with
Margaret Stanley on another DNA virus,
human papillomavirus, which is associated with
cervical cancer. His research in the early 1970s was in the field of
plant viruses, including
tobacco rattle virus and
tobacco necrosis virus, in collaboration with Graham Darby and others.
Leszek Borysiewicz and
Geoffrey L. Smith are among his other research collaborators, and notable students have included
Tony Kouzarides.
Vaccines In the early 1990s, Minson's group was one of several investigating a novel method of
attenuating viruses for use in live
vaccines. One or more of the genes absolutely required for replication is deleted and the virus is grown in a cell line
engineered to express these gene products. The resulting virus can infect normal human cells but should be safe because it cannot replicate in them. Minson and co-workers pioneered a modification of this approach in which the disabled virus is restricted to a single cycle of replication. Using HSV-2, which causes genital herpes, they disabled the virus by deleting the viral gene encoding the membrane protein glycoprotein H (gH). This product is not required until after the viral assembly process, which means that the disabled virus can undergo a single round of replication in normal human cells, but the progeny virus cannot infect new cells. Minson's group called the resulting virus a "disabled infectious single cycle" (DISC) virus; similarly disabled viruses are also termed "single-cycle" viruses. Their work with DISC HSV-2 led to a series of vaccine candidates, which were developed by Cantab Pharmaceuticals. However, a large
phase II trial of the agent as a
therapeutic vaccine in people with genital herpes failed to demonstrate any benefit, The single-cycle strategy can be used to generate live vaccines against other viruses, and such a vaccine has recently been successfully developed for the
bluetongue virus of sheep.
Detection In the early 2000s, a collaboration between Minson and Matthew Cooper's group from the University of Cambridge's chemistry department pioneered a novel acoustic technique for detecting viruses. The technique allows a single virus particle to be detected in a sample and has the potential for use as a quick yet sensitive monitor of viral infection. The researchers co-founded the company Akubio in 2001 to exploit the discovery; the company developed
biosensors for detecting bacteria and viruses. It was acquired by Inverness Medical Innovations in 2008.
Taxonomy Minson is a long-term member of the
International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) Study Group that defines herpesvirus
taxonomy. In 2008, as a result of the group's deliberations on research into herpesvirus genetics, the ICTV promoted the herpesvirus
family to an
order and split it into three families. ==Science and university administration==