The present invention comprises a method of downregulating intracellular defenses by administering (5Z)-7-Oxozeaenol. This allows for improved delivery of RNA based gene vectors to natural killer, stem and macrophage cells. The resulting cells can be used in adoptive cell transfer therapies. Also provided are methods of treating virally induced inflammation via administration of (5Z)-7-Oxozeaenol together with an anti viral therapeutic.
