I thank D. Monneret and J-P. Bastard for their interest in our manuscript [1] and I could not agree more with their comment that the role of soluble CD163 (sCD163) in obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) requires further detailed evaluation. As outlined in our article, the measurement of sCD163 in our patient cohort followed our results from the in vitro and in vivo studies demonstrating M1 polarisation of adipose tissue macrophages in response to intermittent hypoxia and thus, was not an a priori hypothesis of our study. Nonetheless, the detected independent association of sCD163 with OSA severity is intriguing.
sCD163 in sleep apnoea requires further evaluation http://ow.ly/o3R130d82YZ