Impact of the MDM2 splice-variants MDM2-A, MDM2-B and MDM2-C on cytotoxic stress response in breast cancer cells.

Background: The murine double minute 2 (MDM2) is an oncogene and a negative regulator of the tumor suppressor protein p53. MDM2 is known to be amplified in numerous human cancers, and upregulation of MDM2 is considered to be an alternative mechanism of p53 inactivation. The presence of many splice variants of MDM2 has been observed in both normal tissues and malignant cells; however their impact and functional properties in response to chemotherapy treatment are not fully understood.