TLR4 and preterm premature rupture of the membranes: At term without labour (to avoid contraction influence and bacteria contamination at parturition), here by classifying genes into specific biological processes, we demonstrated that toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), which is classically involved in the recognition of Gram-negative bacteria and that triggers an inflammatory response in chorioamnionitis leading to PPROM (Medzhitov et al., 1997; Poltorak et al., 1998), was overexpressed in the ZAM choriodecidua compared with the ZAM amnion.