Soluble VE-cadherin: not just a marker of endothelial permeability.

Recently, the publication by Harki et al . [1] in the European Respiratory Journal reported higher levels of serum soluble VE-cadherin(sVE) in volunteers exposed to intermittent hypoxia (IH), as well as in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). They further demonstrated that IH induced VE-cadherin cleavage through ROS production and activation of HIF-1, VEGF and tyrosine kinase pathway, indicating that serum sVE could be a promising biomarker of increased endothelial permeability in OSA patients. The results are meaningful as there is yet no endothelium-specific biomarker for the early diagnosis of endothelial barrier disruption in OSA patients. However, it is worth noting that sVE may not be just a marker of endothelial permeability. Footnotes This manuscript has recently been accepted for publication in the European Respiratory Journal . It is published here in its accepted form prior to copyediting and typesetting by our production team. After these production processes are complete and the authors have approved the resulting proofs, the article will move to the latest issue of the ERJ online. Please open or download the PDF to view this article. Conflict of interests: S.Q. Li has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interests: Y. Lin has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interests: Q. Li has nothing to disclose.