Galactokinase catalyzes the first step of galactose phosphorylation in the Leloir pathway of intermediate metabolism. Galactokinase deficiency is one of the three inborn errors of metabolism that lead to hypergalactosemia.
Galactokinase initiates the first reaction in the Leloir pathway for galactose phosphorylation, a process essential to intermediate metabolism. A deficiency in galactokinase can lead to hypergalactosemia, one of three primary congenital metabolic issues.