Heat Shock Proteins are chaperones primary involved in the repair of cellular damages induced by temperature. The harmful effect of temperature on the male gonad is well known, on the contrary knowledge on the effects of the environment on semen quality are still insufficient. The aim of this paper was to learn more about the role of HSPs and the environment in modulating the physiology of equine male gonads. We showed a detailed analysis of equine semen characteristic and the expression level of three HSPs (60-70-90) over a one-year period analyzing the effects of temperature and humidity and the correlation among the different variables. We showed also that the interpretation of results depends strongly on the way in which data are assembled and analyzed, therefore we compared results obtained from three different ways of grouping: according to single months, to weather seasons and to mare reproductive periods. Results showed that the expression of the three HSPs is correlated to the environment through temperature and humidity and that it reaches the highest level in the breeding season and in summer. We found also that HSPs expression is correlated to some variables describing the quality of equine semen (concentration) and the kinetic of spermatozoa (total motility-MOT, %, average path velocity -VAP, μm/s- and lateral head displacement -ALH, μm). No correlation was found between HSPs expression and the mitochondrial membrane potential; while viability and HSP90 expression resulted positively correlated. The month-by-month analysis evidenced that in February equine semen has the highest kinetic characteristics (increased linearity -LIN, %-, straightness -STR, % -and average path velocity -VAP, μm/s) with the highest number of motile, progressive motile and rapid cells. These results may have a great impact in the comprehension of functional aspects of the physiology of equine semen and may have potential implications for breeders who want to understand the period (and/or month) of the year in which equine semen reaches the best characteristics with increased chances for better results in reproductive practice.

中文翻译：

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马精子中的热休克蛋白：表达以及与动力学和环境参数的相关性

热休克蛋白是主要参与修复温度诱导的细胞损伤的分子伴侣。温度对男性性腺的有害影响是众所周知的，相反，关于环境对精液质量影响的知识仍然不足。本文的目的是更多地了解 HSP 和环境在调节马雄性性腺生理方面的作用。我们详细分析了一年内马精液特征和三种 HSP (60-70-90) 的表达水平，分析了温度和湿度的影响以及不同变量之间的相关性。我们还表明，结果的解释很大程度上取决于数据的收集和分析方式，因此我们比较了从三种不同分组方式获得的结果：根据单月、天气季节和母马繁殖期。结果表明，3种HSPs的表达通过温度和湿度与环境相关，在繁殖季节和夏季达到最高水平。我们还发现 HSP 的表达与描述马精液质量（浓度）和精子动力学（总运动性 - MOT，%，平均路径速度 -VAP，μm/s- 和横向头部位移 -ALH，微米）。未发现 HSPs 表达与线粒体膜电位之间存在相关性；而生存力和 HSP90 表达结果呈正相关。逐月分析表明，2 月份马精液具有最高的动力学特征（线性增加 -LIN、%-、直线度 -STR、% - 和平均路径速度 -VAP, μm/s) 具有最高数量的运动细胞、渐进运动细胞和快速细胞。这些结果可能对理解马精液生理学的功能方面产生重大影响，并且可能对想要了解马精液达到最佳特征的年份（和/或月份）的育种者产生潜在影响。在生殖实践中获得更好结果的机会增加。