RBKS (ribokinase) catalyzes the phosphorylation of ribose to D-ribose-5-phosphate, serving as a critical entry point for ribose metabolism. This product feeds into nucleotide synthesis, amino acid biosynthesis (histidine and tryptophan), and the pentose phosphate pathway 1. RBKS operates in the cytoplasm and participates in cellular energy metabolism and biosynthetic processes. Mechanistically, RBKS functions upstream in metabolic networks regulating pentose phosphate pathway flux. TKT (transketolase) promotes AML progression through RBKS-mediated pentose phosphate pathway activation, facilitating epithelial-mesenchymal transition 2. RBKS expression influences gastrointestinal motility; Rbks mutations cause ribose accumulation in the small intestine, accelerating gut movement and suppressing weight gain in mice 1. Clinically, RBKS associates with multiple disease states. Genome-wide analysis identified RBKS as a shared glucose metabolism gene across major psychiatric disorders (depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia) 3. RBKS appears elevated in trigeminal neuralgia patients and normalizes post-surgical intervention 4. In pancreatic cancer, RBKS silencing sensitizes cells to chemotherapy, suggesting a chemo-resistant role 5. Additionally, rare coding variants in RBKS associate with cognitive performance in Alzheimer's disease 6, and dysregulated RBKS expression contributes to recurrent implantation failure pathogenesis 7. Colonic diverticulosis susceptibility involves RBKS as a metabolism-related genetic determinant 8.