Articular cartilage is a unique and highly specialized avascular connective tissue in which the availability of oxygen and glucose is significantly lower than synovial fluid and plasma. Glucose is an essential source of energy during embryonic growth and fetal development and is vital for mesenchymal cell differentiation, chondrogenesis and skeletal morphogenesis. Glucose is an important metabolic fuel for differentiated chondrocytes during post-natal development and in adult articular cartilage and is a common structural precursor for the synthesis of extracellular matrix glycosaminoglycans.