Upon viral infection, viral RNA is detected in the cytosol through intracellular MDA5/RIG-I-like receptors (Pichlmair et al., 2006; Kang et al., 2002), which triggers the localization of the mitochondrial antiviral signaling (MAVS) protein to the mitochondrial outer membrane (Seth et al., 2005). Here, MAVS is linked to viral infectious disease.