How GPT-5 helped immunologist Derya Unutmaz solve a 3-year-old mystery

Immunologist Derya Unutmaz solved a difficult problem from a T cell differentiation experiment he had been running since 2022, with the help of GPT-5 Pro. In the original experiment, when T cells were exposed to deoxyglucose instead of glucose, they differentiated into far more inflammatory cells than expected, but the cause could not be identified.

GPT-5 Pro analyzed the data and offered the insight that deoxyglucose blocked the production of the IL-2 protein, removing the barrier that normally prevents T cells from turning into Th17 cells. This is a case of AI uncovering a new mechanism that the research team had not managed to find.

Professor Unutmaz also tested GPT-5 Pro's predictive ability by feeding it as-yet-unpublished experimental data on the lymphoma-killing capability of CD8+ T cells. The model accurately predicted the experimental results, demonstrating scientific reasoning ability that went beyond simple data analysis.