Fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2), a canonical member, belongs to the fibroblast growth factor family.

Fibroblast Growth Factor-Basic Heparin Stabilized human has been used to culture Brown Norway rat yolk sac epithelial cells transformed with mouse sarcoma virus (BN/MSV). It has also been used in the preparation of serum-free mouse tubal epithelium growth medium (M-TE-GM) to culture primary tubal epithelium (TE) cells.

Fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) participates in tissue development and repair. It is also involved in embryonic development, angiogenesis, bone regeneration, stem cell self-renewal, and wound healing. The basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) plays a key role in the progression and maintenance of the nervous system. FGF2 binds to the FGF receptor (FGFR) and activates the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway, which controls cellular behavior, using heparan sulfates (HS)/heparin as a cofactor. bFGF stimulates cell proliferation, differentiation, and migration in a variety of cell types. In cultured astrocytes from rat brain, recombinant human basic fibroblast growth factor (rhbFGF) may induce nerve growth factor (NGF) secretion. It is the heparin stabilized form of a natural mitogenic growth factor used in cell culture applications to study cell signaling and to promote fibroblast and endothelial cell growth and survival.