Retinoic acid–inducible gene I (RIG-I), interferon alpha (IFN-α), mitochondrial antiviral-signaling protein (MAVS), NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3), toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 and TLR7, and several inflammatory markers (such as IL-1β, NF-κB, and IL-7) have been shown to be highly expressed in simple hypertrophic tonsils (i.e. not in hypertrophic tonsils with recurrent tonsillitis), showing the activity of pathogen-induced innate immune responses [34]. Here, MAVS is linked to Recurrent tonsillitis.