Background:
Catalyzes the phosphorylation of various hexoses, such as D-glucose, D-glucosamine, D-fructose, D-mannose and 2-deoxy-D-glucose, to hexose 6-phosphate (D-glucose 6-phosphate, D-glucosamine 6-phosphate, D-fructose 6-phosphate, D-mannose 6-phosphate and 2-deoxy-D-glucose 6-phosphate, respectively) (PubMed:1637300, PubMed:25316723, PubMed:27374331). Does not phosphorylate N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (PubMed:27374331). Mediates the initial step of glycolysis by catalyzing phosphorylation of D-glucose to D-glucose 6-phosphate (By similarity). Involved in innate immunity and inflammation by acting as a pattern recognition receptor for bacterial peptidoglycan (PubMed:27374331). When released in the cytosol, N-acetyl-D-glucosamine component of bacterial peptidoglycan inhibits the hexokinase activity of HK1 and causes its dissociation from mitochondrial outer membrane, thereby activating the NLRP3 inflammasome (PubMed:27374331).