Hexokinases phosphorylate glucose to produce glucose-6-phosphate, thus committing glucose to the glycolytic pathway. Hexokinase1 encodes a ubiquitous form of hexokinase which localizes to the outer membrane of mitochondria. Mutations in this gene have been associated with hemolytic anemia due to hexokinase deficiency. Alternative splicing of HXK1 results in five transcript variants which encode different isoforms, some of which are tissue-specific. Each isoform has a distinct N-terminus, the remainder of the protein is identical among all the isoforms. A sixth transcript variant has been described, but due to the presence of several stop codons, it is not thought to encode a protein Synonyms: Hexokinase-1, EC 2.7.1.1, Hexokinase type I, HK I, Brain form hexokinase, HK1-ta, HK1-tb, HXK1, HK1