Considering the important role of TLR4 in sterile (regarding HMGB1 release) (Bredeson et al., 2014) or pathological inflammation (chorioamnionitis) (Robertson et al., 2020), the remainder of the study focused on the characterisation and regulation of TLR4 expression in fetal membranes, as ascertained by cross-analysis of the methylomic and transcriptomic results. Here, HMGB1 is linked to chorioamnionitis.