Effect of glucose and mannitol on C4 expression. Quiescent HPMCs were incubated with escalating doses of glucose or mannitol in M199 media for 24 h (⋄), 48 h (○), or 72 h (•), after which culture supernatants were harvested for C4 ELISA. Results were obtained from triplicate experiments. *P = 0·028, #P = 0·000, †P = 0·028 compared to medium control.