Glucose phosphorylation by hexokinases (HKs) traps glucose in cells and facilitates its usage in metabolic processes dependent on cellular needs. HK domain-containing protein-1 (HKDC1) is a recently discovered protein with wide expression containing HK activity, first noted through a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to be linked with gestational glucose homeostasis during pregnancy. Since then, HKDC1 has been observed to be expressed in many human tissues. Moreover, studies have shown that HKDC1 plays a role in glucose homeostasis by which it may affect the progression of many pathophysiological conditions such as gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and cancer. Here, we review the key studies contributing to our current understanding of the roles of HKDC1 in human pathophysiological conditions and potential therapeutic interventions.

己糖激酶 (HKs) 的葡萄糖磷酸化将葡萄糖捕获在细胞中，并促进其在依赖于细胞需求的代谢过程中的使用。HK 结构域蛋白-1 (HKDC1) 是最近发现的具有广泛表达的含有 HK 活性的蛋白质，首次通过全基因组关联研究 (GWAS) 发现与怀孕期间的妊娠期葡萄糖稳态有关。从那时起，已观察到 HKDC1 在许多人体组织中表达。此外，研究表明，HKDC1 在葡萄糖稳态中发挥作用，它可能影响许多病理生理状况的进展，例如妊娠期糖尿病 (GDM)、非酒精性脂肪性肝炎 (NASH) 和癌症。这里，