Pyrimidine synthetic enzymes of the rat testis and epididymis following unilateral vasectomy.

The de novo pyrimidine synthetic enzyme, aspartate carbamyltransferase, and the two pyrimidine salvage enzymes, uridine and thymidine kinases, of the rat testis and epididymis were measured 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 wk following unilateral vasectomy. Vasectomy had no effect on organ wet weights and on testicular and epididymal asparate carbamyltransferase and thymidine kinase activities. Increases in the uridine kinase activity of the caput epididymidis at 2 wk and of the cauda epididymidis from the second to the sixth weeks were the only significant enzymatic changes observed.