Schisandrin B enhances embryo competence and potentially mitigates endoplasmic reticulum stress during porcine preimplantation development.

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress induced by agents such as tunicamycin (TM) substantially impedes the developmental progression of porcine embryos. Lignan compounds such as Schisandrin B (Sch-B), may have the potential to mitigate this stress. However, there are few studies on the effects of Sch-B on embryo development. To address this research gap, this study evaluates the protective efficacy of Sch-B against TM-induced ER stress during pivotal stages of porcine embryogenesis. Notably, embryos treated with Sch-B exhibited pronounced resistance to TM-induced developmental arrest, particularly at the 4-cell stage, facilitating progression to the 8-cell stage and subsequent blastocyst formation. It was also observed that Sch-B effectively reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and improved mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). Furthermore, Sch-B positively influenced the expression of several stress-related genes. These findings highlight the promising role of Sch-B in improving porcine embryo development and mitigating ER stress. • Schisandrin B promotes porcine embryonic development by mitigating Tunicamycin-induced 4-cell stage arrest and reducing apoptosis levels in blastocysts. • Schisandrin B mitigates the elevation of reactive oxygen species levels in porcine embryos treated with tunicamycin. • Schisandrin B improves mitochondrial membrane potential in porcine embryos treated with tunicamycin. • Schisandrin B positively influences the expression of several stress-related genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]