diff --git a/cellxgene_gateway/cache_entry.py b/cellxgene_gateway/cache_entry.py
index 8c72efc..c8dbeef 100644
--- a/cellxgene_gateway/cache_entry.py
+++ b/cellxgene_gateway/cache_entry.py
@@ -148,7 +148,7 @@ class CacheEntry:
         headers = {}
         copy_headers = [
             "accept",
-            "accept-encoding",
+            # "accept-encoding" - removed: let requests library handle compression/decompression
             "accept-language",
             "cache-control",
             "connection",