Prometaphaseban

Prometaphaseban is a term used in speculative or fictional contexts to denote a regulatory state or intervention that prevents the cell cycle from progressing from prometaphase to metaphase during mitosis. In such usage, prometaphase is stabilized or prolonged, typically via enhanced spindle assembly checkpoint signaling, inhibition of the anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C), or disruption of kinetochore–microtubule dynamics. The word combines prometaphase, the mitotic phase where chromosomes begin to align, with ban, indicating an arrest or prohibition of progression.

Mechanisms proposed in discussions of prometaphaseban include upregulation of checkpoint components (for example Mad2 or BubR1), inhibition of Cdc20 activation of APC/C, or pharmacological stabilization of kinetochore–microtubule attachments. In theoretical descriptions, such arrest results in a prolonged prometaphase with sustained checkpoint activity and delayed or absent metaphase onset. If maintained, the state can lead to genomic instability or mitotic catastrophe, depending on the duration and cellular context.

Origins and usage notes indicate that prometaphaseban is not an established term in mainstream cell biology. It appears mainly in thought experiments, speculative literature, or science fiction rather than in standard experimental nomenclature. It is often contrasted with normal mitotic progression and with other experimentally induced arrest states, such as nocodazole-induced prometaphase arrest or metaphase arrest via APC/C inhibitors.

See also: Prometaphase, spindle assembly checkpoint, APC/C, Cdc20, mitotic arrest.